Water Environment

Water Environment provide specialist technical consulting services, specific to the water and environmental sectors of engineering. The majority of our work is carried out in the support of planning applications for the re-development of sites but we also provide advice on drainage, flooding and environmental issues on existing sites.

The team at Water Environment have a wide range of experience in delivering flood risk projects for our clients. We pride ourselves on providing robust up-to-date advice to inform all stages of development. Further details of our flood risk services are described below. If you have any questions about what we offer, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Estimation of flood hydrology requires the calculation of river flow peaks (or hydrographs) from observed or modelled design floods of a specified return period. In the UK, hydrological modelling is undertaken using standard guidance from the Flood Estimation Handbook (FEH) and subsequent updates.

The Environment Agency's Flood Zone maps represent large areas and are often inaccurate or lacking in detail at a site-specific level. As such, sometimes sites are shown to be within the floodplain when in fact they are not. Detailed, bespoke hydraulic modelling can sometimes unlock an otherwise undevelopable site.

For any major development it is now expected that surface water is managed through the implementation of SUDS and there is a requirement to undertake a SUDS assessment for planning purposes. This is usually required for larger sites (greater than 1000m) and those proposing over ten dwellings.

Sustainable drainage can be implemented at single property scale, through addition of green roofs, soakaways or permeable paving, or at a site-wide scale, through incorporation of large infiltration devices and natural methods such as balancing ponds or wetlands.Early consideration of sustainable drainage measures can ensure successful incorporation into the site layout and ensure sensitive and cost-effective design.