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Flooding Legislation Header ImageFlooding Legislation –What You Need To Know

The Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009 implemented significant changes to national and local flood management, providing a structure for greater synergy between all organisations responsible such as SEPA (Scottish Environmental Protection Agency), Scottish Water and local authorities.  Following the gathering of data you can now access flood warning maps, live flood updates by area and advice on what to do before, during and after flooding at the SEPA website.  You can also receive free advance flood warning messages on your landline or mobile phone by signing up to Floodline (SEPA’s direct flood warning service).

In England and Wales, The Flood and Water Management Act 2010 provided for greater cooperation between authorities responsible for managing flooding across the country (The Environmental Agency and local authorities etc).  Flood warning maps, live flood updates and information on how to prepare for and react to a flood can be found on the Environmental Agency website. For Wales information on how to deal with flooding can be found at the Natural Resources Wales website.  You can also sign up to receive free advance flood warning messages on your landline or mobile phone by signing up to the Floodline Warnings Direct, the Environmental Agency’s flood warning service.

Waste Disposal

If flooding is not prevented then it can cause damage to stock and materials.  If these are irreparably damaged then you still have a duty of care to ensure that they are handled responsibly by an authorised waste disposal contractor.  You should follow relevant regulations in the disposal of hazardous waste, food waste, oil, vehicles and electrical or electronic equipment.  You can contact your local SEPA or EA office for advice in how to dispose of these.

Used sandbags often retain pollutants such as sewage and oils from floodwater.  Protective gear such as gloves should be worn when handling contaminated sandbags and hands should be thoroughly washed afterwards.  Contaminated sandbags can be taken to your local Civic Amenity Site for disposal and you should inform staff of their contamination.  If this is not possible seek advice from your local authority (if there has been a flood they will most likely have measures in place to provide for their disposal).  Used sandbags should not be placed in household waste or placed in sandpits for playing in as there are significant health risks.