Discover why mitigating the effects of flooding is so crucial within the water management industry.

Flooding is one of the most costly natural global disasters, with damages soaring to $175 billion in 2016 alone. As a result of various high-profile disasters over recent years, addressing flood risk and flood risk management has become an urgent global goal.

The headline damage figure is likely to rise considerably as climate change continues to affect weather patterns. The UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) warns that climate change and ocean warming will bring more intense storms and more destructive events.

Even with the shocking current data and official confirmation of the challenges that lie ahead, the economic figures can neither convey the disruption and heartache that flooding causes those affected, nor the impact of the significant global death toll.

As a result, there is considerable pressure on consultants and contracting engineers, who play key roles in flood mitigation, to control the flow of water way from habituated areas. They are entrusted with translating aims that have significant political and public impact into effective, robust and sustainable solutions.

Their challenges include complying with stringent national and regional regulatory requirements, and liaising with clients, their main contractors and other consultants, as well as local communities and the wider supply chain, including the manufacturers of the products being specified.

Reducing flood risk is one of the most urgent tasks facing the world’s drainage engineers today, and one that requires significant expertise to guarantee success. To ensure solutions are appropriate, sustainable, economical and practical to maintain, all stakeholders in this vital field must commit to working closely together to these ends.