Reservoir Flooding In Northern Ireland (NI)
Flooding from impounded water bodies such as reservoirs and dams can arise as a result of overtopping or failure of the impounding structure which in turn may result in a sudden uncontrolled release of flood water into downstream areas.
Flooding has the potential to cause fatalities and injury, displacement of people and damage to buildings. PPS 15 adopts a precautionary approach to development in areas susceptible to reservoir flooding and Policy FLD 5 states that new development will only be permitted within the potential flood inundation area of a controlled reservoir if the applicant can firstly demonstrate that the condition, management and maintenance regime of the reservoir is appropriate to provide sufficient assurance regarding reservoir safety or secondly that the application is accompanied by a Flood Risk Assessment which demonstrates an assessment of the downstream flood risk in the event of both a controlled and uncontrolled release of water from the reservoir.
What we will do
Visit the Site and Reservoir
We will visit both the site and the reservoir if required, approach the reservoir owners to ascertain if Responsible Reservoir Manager Status has been granted and if still necessary, undertake a Flood Risk Assessment to assess the risk of both controlled and uncontrolled flooding to the proposed development.
Emergency Evacuation Plan
Our Flood Risk Assessment will also provide for a site specific emergency evacuation plan that can demonstrate the safe access and egress for emergency services and people during times of flooding. We are one of only a few consultancies that have the appropriate software to undertake this study in a manner deemed acceptable to DfI Rivers. In addition, we have a close working relationship with DfI Rivers and have the required experience to achieve a successful outcome.
Hydraulic Modelling of a Reservoir
It is our understanding that at present we are the only consultancy in Northern Ireland that can produce hydraulic modelling of a reservoir failure in order to determine depth and velocity of flooding at a particular site and then offer appropriate mitigation measures.
We would love to hear from you if you have a query regarding a project you are working on or require a free quotation.
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