Preliminary Flood Risk Assessment

Herefordshire Council has completed its Preliminary Flood Risk Assessment (PFRA) which assesses the flood risk within the county. The report satisfies the first requirement of the Flood Risk Regulations 2009 and the requirements of the European Floods Directive, which aims to provide a consistent approach to managing flood risk across Europe.

The PFRA is a high level screening exercise to identify areas where there is significant flood risk in national terms for reporting to Europe (known as Flood Risk Areas). It includes a review of past floods and the potential for future floods and covers the risk of flooding from local sources, namely ordinary watercourses, surface water (overland runoff) and groundwater, together with any interaction with drainage systems, sewers and other sources.

Whilst there may not be any areas of nationally significant flood risk, there are many areas where local flood risk has been an issue in the past and remains a risk in the future. Such issues will need to be addressed by Herefordshire Council in its Local Flood Risk Management Strategy.