Paul Singleton BEng (Hons) MSc CEng MIEI

Mistaya Langridge BEng (Hons) MASc MIEI

Agenda

• Understanding Flood Risk

• Flood Risk Policy
• Terms and Concepts
• Scales and Stages of FRA
• Flood Risk Information
• Hydraulic Modelling
• Surface Water Drainage

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An overflow of Water on Land that is usually Dry

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 Flooding – October 2023

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 Flood Risk Management

“The Office of Public Works (OPW) is the

lead State body for the coordination and
implementation of Government policy on the
management of flood risk in Ireland. The
OPW is also the national authority for the
implementation of the EU Directive on the
Assessment and Management of Flood
Risks [2007/60/EC].”
OPW.ie

Flood Hazard

“Flood risk is not the same as flood hazard.

Flood hazard only describes the degree or
severity of flooding, often referring to the
extent and depth of flooding or the velocity
of flood flow, but does not include an
element of the damage.”
OPW.ie

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 Flood Risk
“Flood risk is the damage that may be
expected to occur at a given location arising
from flooding. It is a combination of the
likelihood, or probability, of flood occurrence,
the degree of flooding and the impacts or
damage that the flooding would cause.”
OPW.ie

Flooding in Ireland
“Floods are a natural and inevitable part of
life in Ireland…Floods only present a risk
however when people, property, the
environment and our cultural heritage can
be potentially damaged.”
OPW.ie

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/rain-and-floods-bring-road-closures-and-disruption-1.3301535

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 Flooding in Ireland
• High rainfall and low evaporation
• Low lying interior and higher coastal areas
• Historical settlement patterns favoured
riverside / coastal locations
• Populations is growing, particularly in
urban areas

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 Historical Flood Policy
• Drainage Acts (1842, 1863, 1925)
• Arterial Drainage Act 1945
• Arterial Drainage (Amendment) Act 1995
• Flood Policy Review Group Report 2004
• EU Flood Directive 2007 – led to CFRAM
• Planning System and Flood Risk
Management 2009

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Flood Policy Review Group

• Flooding in Winter 2002 prompted
review of flood policy

• Found a general lack of clarity

• Found OPW most appropriate lead

agency

• Recommended move from flood

prevention to flood risk
management

• Led to: programme of flood

mapping (also EU Floods
Directive), Flood Studies Update,
Development of Flood Planning
guidance

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 Flood Risk Planning Policy
Purpose

• Planning authorities must

implement these Guidelines to
ensure flood risk is a key
consideration in development
plans and assessment of planning
applications

• Policy will assist in preparing

regional planning guidelines

• Should be utilised by Developers

in preparing development
proposals

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Flood Risk Planning Policy

• Identification and Assessment of
Flood Risk

• Addressing Flood Risk

Management in Design of
Development

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Flood Risk Planning Policy

Core Objectives
• Avoid inappropriate development in areas at risk of flooding
• Avoid new developments increasing flood risk elsewhere,
including that which may arise from surface water run-off
• Ensure effective management of residual risks for
development permitted in floodplains;
• Avoid unnecessary restriction of …economic and social
growth
• Improve the understanding of flood risk among relevant
stakeholders

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Source-Pathway-Receptor
• Guidelines set out Source-Pathway-Receptor
model

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 Source-Pathway-Receptor

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Receptor Vulnerability

• Highly vulnerable: houses, hospitals, emergency

services, schools, essential infrastructure

• Less Vulnerable: commercial, industrial, non-

residential

• Water-compatible: docks, marinas, amenity

open space, outdoors sports

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 Staged Approach
• Stage 1 – identify any flooding or surface water
management issues / Regional level
• Stage 2 – confirm sources of flooding, what
approach is required for FRAs, scope for
mitigation / SFRA
• Stage 3 – assessment of flood risk in sufficient
detail to provide information on proposed or
existing development, typically involves
hydraulic modelling / Site-Specific

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Flood Zones

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 Flood Zones
• Main aim of any FRA is to establish Flood Zones in the
area under consideration – with details around level of
confidence in Zoning extent
• Flood Zones determined on the basis of river and coastal
flooding only
• Flood protection structures should be ignored in
determining Flood Zones
• “Should only be prepared by suitably qualified experts
with hydrological experience”

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Floodplains
• Floodplain hold excess
water until it can be
released slowly back into
system
• Valuable function in
attenuation and conveying
water in relatively safe
way
• “Leaving Space for Water”

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 Climate Change
• Floodinfo.ie (OPW)

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Sequential Approach

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 Sequential Approach

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Receptor Vulnerability

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 Justification Test
• Acknowledgement that while development should avoid
areas at risk of flooding, urban structure of country
requires towns and cities to be sustainably developed
• Justification Test designed to rigorously assess the
appropriateness of particular development

• Plan-making Justification Test

• Development Management Justification Test

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Justification Test
• Lands zoned or
designated
• Appropriate FRA
– Flood Zone Maps
– Sequential Approach
– Avoid increasing
Flood Risk elsewhere
– Minimising Flood Risk
– Managing Residual
Risk
– Good Urban Design

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Sources of Flood Risk Information

• Consider sources of Flooding (fluvial,
coastal, pluvial, groundwater etc.)
• Technical and Non-Technical Data
• Secondary Information (i.e. information
used to create / form flood info)

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 Sources of Flood Risk Information

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FloodInfo.ie

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 OPW ‘Past Flood Events’
• Show places that have
flooded
• Based on historical
reports / previous events
• Links to reports, photos,
newspaper articles etc.
• floodinfo.ie (used to be
floodmaps.ie)

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CFRAM Programme
Catchment Flood Risk Assessment and Management
Programme
• Designed to assess and map the country’s river systems
to identify areas at risk of significant flooding
• Produce detailed flood mapping
• Build strategic information base
• Identify viable structural and non-structural measures
and options for managing flood risks

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 CFRAM Programme
3 Milestones
• Preliminary Flood Risk
Assessment (2011)
• Preparation of Flood Maps
(2014 - 2015)
• Flood Risk Management Plans
(2015 - 2016)

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OPW PFRA

• Required under
2007 EU Floods
Directive
• Draft PFRA
released 2011
• Identifies AFAs –
Areas of Further
Assessment

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 CFRAM Pilot Studies
• River
Lee
• River
Dodder
• Fingal
East
Meath

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CFRAM Maps

• Detailed modelling
focused on 300
AFAs
• Hydraulic modelling
• Major watercourses
only
• Risk and Hazard
Maps

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 OPW CFRAM
• myplan.ie

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Irish Coastal Protection Strategy

Study (ICPSS)
• National Study commissioned in 2003;
completed 2013
• Coastal Flooding and Erosion
• Varying levels of background height data
(DTM and LiDAR)
• Flood maps and Erosion maps

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 OPW ICPSS

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Irish Coastal Wave and Water Level

Modelling Study (ICWWS)
• Update of the extreme water level estimation
undertaken as part of the Irish Coastal
Protection Strategy Study (ICPSS)
• Phase 1 of ICWWS done in 2018 and published
in 2020
• Two further future scenario extreme water level
datasets associated with 1.5m (H+EFS) and
2.0m (H++EFS)

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 OPW National Coastal Extreme Water
Level Estimation Points (ICWSS 2018)

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National Coastal Flood Hazard

Mapping (NCFHM)
• Published in June 2021
• Include MRFS and HEFS
• Flood extent maps are suitable for the
assessment of flood risk at a strategic scale
only, and should not be used to assess flood
risk associated with individual properties or
point locations, or to replace a detailed flood
risk assessment.

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 National Coastal Flood Hazard
Mapping (NCFHM)

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National Indicative Fluvial

Mapping (NIFM)
• Published in 2020 / 2021
• Present Day 1% AEP and 0.1% AEP only
• The maps only provide an indication of areas
that may be prone to flooding. They are not
necessarily locally accurate, and should not be
used as the sole basis for defining Flood Zones
nor for decisions on planning applications.
• The maps may be used in the Stage I Flood Risk
Assessment (Flood Risk Identification)

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 National Indicative Fluvial
Mapping (NIFM)

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Flood Risk Management Plans

• Screening of
Measures
• Developing
Options
• Appraising
Options
• Identification of
Preferred Options

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 Dublin Pluvial Study

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Urban Drainage

• Sewers
Records
• Sewer
Types
• Local
Topography

https://www.irishmirror.ie/news/irish-news/gallery/flooding-in-dublin-8190856

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 Groundwater Flooding
• Geological
Survey Ireland
• First phase of
monitoring at
over 60 stations
• Satellite imagery
used to map
groundwater
flooding
https://www.gsi.ie/en-ie/programmes-and-projects/groundwater/projects/gwflood/Pages/Mapping.aspx

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Historical Flood Records

• Local Authority
records
• Emergency
services reports
• Media records /
online search
• Anecdotal
evidence

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 Strategic Flood Risk Assessments
• Staged approach
• Appropriate scale / level of analysis
• Initially based on existing information
• May require gathering of new information
• Development Plan / Local Area Plan
• Details on spatial distribution of flood risk
• Identify where Justification Test will be required

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Example SFRA

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 Other Information Sources
• River Basin Management Plans
• Development Plans / SFRAs / LAPs
• Advice from OPW / Local Authority
• Topographical Maps
• Flood Defence Details
• Interviews / Anecdotal Evidence
• Walkover Survey

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 Flood Modelling
• Mathematical representation of real
system processes used to quantify
different components of hydrological cycle

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Flood Modelling

• Hydrological Modelling
Transforms rainfall
amount into runoff
(surface/watercourse
flow)

• Hydraulic Modelling
Takes that quantity of
runoff to determine a
flood level

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 Hydrological Modelling
• OPW Flood Studies
Update (FSU)
• Flood Studies Report
(FSR)
• Institute of Hydrology
124 (IoH124)
• Flood Studies
Supplementary
Report (FSSR)
• UK methods

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Hydrological Modelling - Example

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 Hydrology – Flood Probability
• Designs sited / sized to withstand a flood of a certain
magnitude with a given flow (the design flood)
• Planning policy uses Flood Zones based on Return
Periods to restrict development
• 1% Annual Exceedance Probability (AEP) is the 1%
chance of a flood occurring in a given year
• Often referred to as 1 in 100 year flood or 100-year flood
event (Q100 flow)
• “We have just had a 100 year flood, it won’t happen
again for 99 years”

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Hydraulic Modelling
• Capacity calculations
• River – 1D
• River – 2D
• River – 1D/2D
• Sewer – 1D
• Surface water – 2D
• Sewer & Surface water – 1D/2D
• Integrated (river, surface, sewer) 1D/2D
• Coastal – 2D

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 Hydraulic Modelling
• Innovyze MicroDrainage
• Autodesk SSA
• HEC-RAS
• Flood Modeller (ISIS)
• Innovyze InfoWorks ICM
• TUFLOW (ESTRY)
• Causeway Flow
• US EPA SWMM
• MIKE 11 / FLOOD
• JFlow

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1D River Models

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 Linked 1D-2D River Models
• Infoworks ICM, Tuflow,
Flood Modeller etc. 2D Floodplain

• Combines the ‘best bits’ of

1D with 2D floodplain
modelling
o 1D – channels and
structures
o 2D – floodplains where
detail required
• FEMFRAMS / CFRAM
• Useful for complex
floodplains, complex 1D River Channel
culverts etc.

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Distributed Hydrological Modelling

• Useful for Surface

Water Flooding

• Directly applies rainfall

• Runoff routed across a

Digital Terrain Model
(DTM) from LiDAR or
surveys

• Combine with sewer

networks / complex
urban watercourses in
Integrated Urban
Drainage Models

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 Scenario Modelling
• Culvert blockage
• Landscape change / infill and
compensatory storage
• Climate change
• Flood defences
• Sensitivity Testing

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 OPW Planning Guidance
• Regional
• SFRA – County
• SFRA – City /
Town
• LAPs / SDZs
• Site-Specific
FRA

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Scales of FRA
Regional
• Broad overview / appraisal (not assessment) of
flood risk across a region
SFRA for Development Plan and LAP
• Broad assessment of all types of flood risk to
inform strategic land-use planning decisions
Site-Specific FRA
• Assess all types of flood risk for new development

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 Stages of FRA

Initial Flood Detailed

Flood Risk
Risk Flood Risk
Identification
Assessment Assessment

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Stage 1 – Flood Risk Identification

• To identify whether there may be any
flooding or surface water management
issues related to a plan area or proposed
development site that may warrant further
investigation

• Source-Pathway-Receptor

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 Stage 1 – Flood Risk Identification

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Stage 2 – Initial FRA

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 Stage 2 – Initial FRA
What to expect from Initial FRA
• All potential sources of Flooding
• Flood alleviation already in place
• Appraisal of adequacy of information
• Identification of data gaps
• Historical Flood information
• Site Visit
• Proposed course of action

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Stage 3 – Detailed FRA

• To assess flood risk to proposed or
existing development
• To consider impact on flood risk elsewhere
and proposed mitigation
• Typically involves use of an existing or
construction of a hydraulic model

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 Stage 3 – Detailed FRA
A successful FRA is characterised by:
• Assessing existing flood risk in terms of
the likelihood of flooding and resultant
consequences
• Assessing the potential, post-development
risks having regard to the design of
mitigation and compensation measures
• Consider impact on flood risk elsewhere

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Stage 3 – Detailed FRA

Recommended content:
• Initial Assessment
• Hydrological and Hydraulic calculations
• Proposed mitigation measures
• Residual risk
• Uncertainty / Freeboard
• Supporting information (drawings, maps,
model summary etc.)

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OPW Guidelines
• “an assessment of how surface water run-off will
be managed should be addressed in most
FRAs…drainage is a material consideration at
the planning stage of a development”

• “FRA should demonstrate that the surface water

drainage system takes account of SuDS
principles”

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 OPW Guidelines
• Current and historical drainage patterns
• Concept drawing of development proposals
• Summary of how drainage provides SuDS and
complies with SFRA drainage strategy
• Soil classification for the site
• Evidence of infiltration tests
• Calculations showing the pre- and post-
development peak runoff flow for critical event
• Wastewater drainage proposals

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The SuDS Philosophy

Conventional Approach SuDS Approach

Quality

Quantity

Amenity &
Biodiversity

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 SuDS Definition - GDSDS
• SuDS involve a change in our way of managing
urban run-off from solely looking at volume
control to an integrated multi-disciplinary
approach which addresses water quality, water
quantity, amenity and habitat (Vol 3 p.132)

• SuDS minimise the impacts of urban runoff by

capturing runoff as close to source as possible
and then releasing it slowly. (Vol 3 p.133)

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SuDS Definition - GDSDS

• SuDS will be mandatory for new developments

unless the developer can demonstrate to the
Local Authority that its inclusion is impractical
due to site circumstances or that its effect on the
control of run-off would be minimal, such as for
rural sites. (Vol 3 p.132)

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 Greater Dublin Code of Practice
• Limit and manage
stormwater runoff
from all new
developments
• Maximum permitted
outflow is to be
restricted to that of a
Greenfield site before
any development
took place

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Greater Dublin Code of Practice

• Interception / treatment of first 5mm for 1 year
event
• No flooding on site for 30 year event (critical
storm)
• No internal property flooding / flooding of
adjacent urban areas for 100 year event
(planned flood routing)

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 Other Items to Evaluate

• Calculations
– Greenfield runoff
– Attenuation and long term storage
– Infiltration rates
• Is storage located outside floodplain?
• Flows onto site
• ‘Robustness’ of design
• Surcharged outlets

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Exceedance and Blockage

• Define route of
exceedance
through the site
across the surface
• Use in the event
of design criteria
being exceeded or
blockage of outlet
• Flows from off site

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