The NIDP Partnership has completed Stage 1 and 2 of our study process investigating integrated flood risk. We have identified one area in Sedgefield which we are going to take forward to Stage 3. This will see us carrying out further survey and investigation work on site, completing an outline design and submitting our funding applications.
The Northumbria Integrated Drainage Partnership (NIDP) is an award winning innovative approach to reduce flood risk and promote sustainable drainage. The partnership brings together 14 North East Lead Local Flood Authorities, the Environment Agency and Northumbrian Water to deliver schemes which reduce flood risk from sewers, rivers and surface water runoff in communities across the North East.
Since 2012, over 40 drainage areas have been studied, leading to delivery of schemes including the multi-award-winning Tyneside projects at Brunton Park, Killingworth, Monkton and Fellgate. Partners have already jointly invested over £9m to reduce flood risk to around 1,000 homes, with many more projects currently the planning and design stages.
By managing flood risk from all sources and across all partners, the NIDP approach can also deliver wider benefits including habitat creation and water quality improvements. One of the advantages of the NIDP is that projects that are not viable as single-stakeholder projects can be developed jointly by partners to reduce flood risk for customers. This can also allow partners to make substantial cost savings which can be invested to reduce flood risk elsewhere. For example the Killingworth and Longbenton scheme is estimated to have saved in excess of £10m compared to a ‘traditional’ underground storage and sewer upsizing scheme.
Through the NIDP, partners are also challenging national processes to enable partnership working to be more easily undertaken and to be rolled out nationally to address flood risk and deliver multiple environmental benefits.
In 2017, NIDP partners supported the creation of an Integrated Flood Partnership Coordinator role, funded by NWG and the Regional Flood and Coastal Committee to drive this process forward. The NIDP has now developed an ambitious 10 year programme, which will undertake integrated studies in over 60 more drainage areas across the region between 2018 and 2028.
The NIDP has been recognised nationally as an exemplar of partnership working in industry guidance and government reports. This year we have been shortlisted at the Water Industry Awards in the 'Partnership of the Year' category and have previously won the Project Excellence Partnership Award at the 2018 Flood and Coast Conference.
At Northumbrian Water, we work to make a difference in your community.
Have you considered a career that can help you do the same?
As well as the teams you see working in your streets, we have people doing a wide range of jobs that support that work to deliver the best possible water and sewerage services across the North East.
You can find out more about careers with Northumbrian Water and check out the latest vacancies by following the link below.