New water laws to swamp landowners, warns Savills

New legislation over the management of reservoirs and lakes is likely to drown landowners in further red tape, according to rural consultant Savills.

The Flood and Water Management Bill, expected to be introduced to Parliament this month, is likely to burden landowners with onerous and expensive annual surveys and record keeping responsibilities, says rural surveyor Alice Berryman.

"Previously the management of small reservoirs, with a maximum holding capacity below 25,000m³, was relatively simple, but this proposed legislation will require anyone with a reservoir or lake larger than 10,000m³ to register with the Environment Agency and comply with a long list of demands."

These include liasing with the Local Authority to draw up an ’On-site Plan’ for implementation in the case of a flood, revising it every year, and reporting any incidents. A supervising engineer must be employed to inspect and report on the condition of the reservoir annually, and an independent inspecting engineer must to do the same on a 10 yearly basis.

"Landowners will have to implement any recommendations made by the inspecting engineers, and keep continuous records of site condition and inspection, to try to protect against any liability which may arise," says Miss Berryman. "Of course, the risk of liability increases if a third party obtains planning permission on the reservoir flood plain."

The Environment Agency is likely to implement a risk-based assessment method when establishing which reservoirs require its oversight, which could reduce the management burden imposed on low-risk reservoirs over 25,000m³. "However, those responsible for smaller but higher risk reservoirs may see their time and costs increase," she adds.

"Reservoirs and lakes play an important role on many farms and estates, providing water for crop irrigation and opportunities for sporting enterprise, as well as amenity use for the general public. This new legislation will mean up to 5000 of these will now come under the legislative eye of the Environment Agency, compared to just 2000 under the current system."

However, the proposed laws, which stem from the EU Floods Directive, will also pass responsibility for local flood leadership to Local Authorities. Flood Management Plans will therefore have to be drafted in line with the management plans of the local area. "This means an extra regulatory body for reservoir undertakers to consider, further increasing the administration and costs burden."

Landowners and managers who are unsure whether their reservoir or lake will be affected by the new rules should employ an independent surveyor to calculate its exact size, she adds. "An estimate lake size issued by the Environment Agency may not be accurate, so commissioning your own survey could save £1000s in costs of compliance."

Clearly, best practice means landowners should already have a plan in place in case of flooding, and keeping a written plan and regular reservoir inspection notes may go a long way to protect against unexpected claimants, says Miss Berryman. "Implementing a management plan now and getting to grips with the requirements will allow reservoir undertakers to minimise the impacts of the new legislation.

"Hopefully, when Parliament enacts the proposed laws, it will be with steps which encourage the use of reservoirs for the good purposes they serve to agriculture and sporting industries, and not inhibit their use through the introduction of onerous costs and liabilities."