The Natural Flood Management (NFM) manual

The Natural Flood Management Manual provides information to help practitioners select and implement natural flood management measures.

From:
Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Research and Development Programme and Environment Agency
Published
26 February 2021
Last updated
20 July 2023 — See all updates
Category:
Environmental management and sustainability
Topics:
Asset performance, Asset system optimisation, Behavioural change, Design and build and Ecosystem service benefits
Show 4 more
Hydrology, Natural capital, Natural flood management, and Sustainability
Project status:
Completed
Project code:
FRS18203
Date of start:
2 February 2018
Date of completion:
20 July 2023

This page describes the CIRIA natural flood management manual.

The 2024 Working with natural processes evidence directory project outputs will be published shortly.

Documents

The natural flood management manual was published by the Construction Industry Research and Information Association (CIRIA) in May 2022. It can be downloaded for free from the CIRIA product page C802F (subscription required). Once your request is processed you will be able to download:

  • the full manual
  • part A of the manual - a 23 page overview of natural flood management
  • separate graphics which illustrate:
    • runoff management
    • runoff storage
    • leaky barriers
    • floodplain reconnection

Summary

Natural Flood Management (NFM) helps to manage flood risk by protecting, restoring and emulating natural processes. The NFM Manual brings together evidence and case studies from the delivery of natural flood management projects. It provides a step-by-step guide to natural flood management measures from identification through to implementation. It’s written for those carrying out natural flood management projects in their local catchment.

Background

This project builds on the findings of the Working with Natural Processes Evidence Directory, which outlined the efficiency of different natural flood management measures.

Approach

The project was developed and co-funded by many of the organisations carrying out natural flood management and published by CIRIA.

The manual

The first section of the manual is a summary guide, which includes an overview of natural flood management and a high-level checklist of implementation steps (this is the extract). The summary directs the reader to later sections for more detailed information. The manual is available to download as a full report or an extract of the first section. Four measures are considered in detail:

  • runoff management
  • runoff storage
  • leaky barriers
  • floodplain reconnection

Summary information is provided for a further eight measures:

  • upland peat management
  • soil and land management
  • cross-slope woodland
  • riparian woodland
  • floodplain woodland
  • catchment woodland
  • offline storage
  • river and channel restoration

Project information

Project Manager: Jessica Durkota, Chief Scientist’s Group

This project was commissioned by the Environment Agency’s FCRM Directorate, as part of the joint Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Research and Development Programme.

Website: Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Research and Development Programme

Email: fcerm.evidence@environment-agency.gov.uk.

Enquiries: enquiries@environment-agency.gov.uk.

A Welsh translation of the summary is also available.

Updates to this page

Published 26 February 2021
Last updated 20 July 2023 + show all updates

  1. Project now complete. Page summary updated with links to the published manual.

  2. First published.

Contents