Partnership push to raise awareness of flood risk
A new website has been set up to give residents the chance to help protect against flooding in Hull.
The Living with Water site launched today on World Water Day, the United Nations-led campaign designed to tackle the global water crisis.
The Living with Water partnership – made up of Hull City Council, East Riding Council, the Environment Agency and Yorkshire Water – was set up last year after the four bodies established a strong working relationship following the devastating floods of 2007.
Its website, livingwithwater.co.uk, will let residents know how residents can get involved in water resilience and prevent against flooding.
The partnership made a successful bid to be part of the City Water Resilience Framework (CWRF) project, along with Miami, Mexico, Amman and Cape Town.
Lee Pitcher, Living with Water general manager, said:
Huge steps have been taken in various engineering solutions across the region, but now is our time to engage the region to make a change. This website highlights how everyone can get involved with our projects to make a change.
We will bring your news on the various schemes across the area, events you can get involved with and ways in which you can protect your homes and businesses against flooding.
Neil Longden, Environment Agency flood risk manager for Yorkshire North and East, said:
The Living With Water Partnership is doing great work, which is building on the hard work done by Hull City Council, East Riding of Yorkshire Council, Yorkshire Water and the Environment Agency in reducing flood risk over the last ten years.
The Living With Water partners are investing more than £200 million on flood risk reduction work in Hull and East Riding. This is one of the largest capital investments in the country. We are already helping renew ageing defences, replacing pumps, constructing flood defences, adopting natural flood management techniques and creating new flood storage areas.
With Hull & Haltemprice being the second most flood prone place in the UK outside of the Thames Estuary, the partnership also aims to raise awareness of this risks and offer advice on self-help measures, such as through installing property flood resilience in homes and signing up to flood warnings and creating a flood plan.
Councillor Daren Hale, Hull City Council’s portfolio holder for economic investment and regeneration, said:
Hull’s historic relationship with water is a unique one. The city developed around water as a trading port, establishing our position as Yorkshire’s only maritime city.
However, in 2007 and 2013, the city experienced a substantial amount of flooding across the city. As a result of this, we developed a dedicated flood risk team, and their work has been absolutely instrumental in understanding the risks posed to Hull.
Preparation is critical for our city, and the team working across the Living with Water partnership have brought together a wealth of expertise to the forefront of climate change discussions that will not only help to shape our plans for future developments, but also impact the city’s position in terms of a becoming a resilient economic driver for the region.