We are responsible for covering three types of flooding:

• groundwater flooding, caused when heavy or prolonged rainfall makes the groundwater table rise above its normal level
• surface water (rainfall) runoff, which flows from, or over, surfaces such as roads, roofs and patios that cannot easily absorb water
• ordinary watercourses which cannot contain large volumes of surface water runoff during or after heavy rain. 

• investigating and publishing reports on significant floods in the county
• recording flood assets and identifying those responsible for maintaining them, as well as designating any features which have a significant impact on flood risk so they cannot be removed or replaced without consent
• working with organisations such as the Environment Agency and water companies to develop a local flood risk management strategy for managing surface runoff, groundwater and ordinary watercourses throughout Essex
• ensuring that developments drain in a manner which does not increase flood risk elsewhere, as well as trying to reduce the risk of flooding wherever possible
• the power to request information regarding flooding from any organisation or person
• the power to commission works to prevent surface water runoff and groundwater flooding
• consenting changes to ordinary watercourses (this responsibility will come into effect in 6 April 2012). 

Local strategy

Essex has started consultation on its Local Flood Risk Management Strategy. The consultation will run from 16 April-2 July. You can have your say by filling in our online form. 

Here you can download:

• the executive summary 
• the full version 

You can also download the environmental report, which includes:

• non-technical summary 
• environmental report 
• Annex A plans and programmes
• Annex B baseline information 
• Annex C sustainability information 

To request a printed copy of the executive summary or a CD containing the full document and environmental report, please email flood.prevention@essex.gov.uk. 

The Essex Local Flood Risk Management Strategy principally looks to tackle local flood risk such as flooding from surface water, groundwater and ordinary watercourses. More households are at risk from this form of flooding than any other but until now there has been little coordinated work to address these forms of risk.

The strategy will also provide information about other forms of flooding, will explain the powers and responsibilities of all the organisations involved in flood risk, and provide advice on what householders and businesses need to do. In addition it will highlight and summarise the information available on flooding in Essex so that this information is more easily accessible for those trying to understand more about flood risk in Essex.

Under European legislation (EU Directive 2001/42/EC) the Local Flood Risk Management Strategy is subject to a Strategic Environmental Assessment, which assesses the sustainability of the strategy and identifies any potentially significant environmental effects that may result from its implementation. The Draft Scoping Report is the first stage of the Strategic Environmental Assessment, setting out the scope and proposed objectives that will be used to appraise the strategy.