Ahead of a report released by a Parliamentary Committee overseeing the government's response to last flooding winter, conservationists have warned that the government has overlooked certain key cost-effective measures to tackle flooding. 

EFRA Committee MPs delivering their report this morning were critical of government cuts and a clear urban-rural devide in the response to flooding. They also recommended a series of controversial measures, including making local 'internal drainage boards’ and landowners responsible for waterway maintenance wherever possible, though critics have claimed this could amount to passing on responsibilities from Environment Agency experts whose funding has been slashed to local landowners.   

Drawing attention to an economic report published last week by Defra advisers at Natural England, the Wildfowl and Wetland Trust suggested that other measures, including Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) and agricultural management could play a major role in reducing the £1bn annual bill for flooding. Natural England figures put the cost of flooding that can be linked back to agriculture at £234m, nearly a quarter of the total annual bill.

SuDS encompass a range of natural ways to capture rain, from green roofs and ponds to much larger areas to reduce both flooding and pollution. The Water and Flood Management Act 2010 made it compulsory for SuDS to be considered for all new developments, Defra has postponed implementation once again this year.

WWT claims that action in this area and support through Pillar Two of the reformed Common Agricultural Policy could address the issue of flooding, but these have been overlooked by Defra. The Trust said CAP funding measures announced last week by Defra Secretary Owen Paterson "severely restrict support for farmers to act to reduce flooding and pollution."

Martin Spray, Chief Executive of WWT commented, "The Government is spending £1 billion of taxpayer's money on flooding in an average year. We could be getting more benefits, more efficiently by working with nature and creating a better environment for people and wildlife at the same time. Public money should deliver multiple public benefits. We will continue to offer our expertise to the Government, but we want to see this put into action."

On the subject of CAP reform, the Trust executive added, "Just 6 percent of the UK’s £15bn investment in farming has been allocated for new environmental benefit, while the environmental criteria for farms to receive their standard payment have been diluted so much that they need actually only provide minimal environmental benefit."

Proposals that would support farmers to create wetlands to trap pollution and rainwater before it affects streams and rivers and create habitat for wildlife will be severely underfunded under the current CAP regime, the Trust warned.