Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion Rivers Catchment Flood ...

Sub-area 1
Northern Coastal Rivers
Our key partners are:
Ceredigion County Council
Local communities
D∑r Cymru Welsh Water
Landowners and managers
Emergency services
The issues in this
sub-area
Predominantly rural land with
scattered small villages and some
larger settlements located adjacent
to rivers and the coastline. There
are several main rivers including
the Rheidol, Clarach, Ystwyth and
Aeron. Flood risk is primarily from
the rivers with some tidal influence.
Surface water and sewer flooding
may cause local problems in some
urban areas.
Approximately 220 properties
are currently at risk from the 1%
AEP flood event, rising to around
600 properties in the future. The
majority of the increased flood risk
is concentrated in Aberystwyth,
Aberaeron and Llanrhystud and is
largely due to potential overtopping
of current defences in a future
1% flood with current climate
change predictions.
Future risk to coastal communities,
such as Aberystwyth, Aberaeron
and coastal caravan and campsites,
is expected to increase due to sea
level rise and increased storminess
and wave action.
The vision and
preferred policy
Policy Option 3 – areas of low to
moderate flood risk where we are
generally managing existing flood
risk effectively.
Our vision is to ensure the range
of our actions is appropriate and
proportionate to the risks, now
and in the future.
We will continue to maintain
existing defences, but it may not be
justifiable to increase their height in
the future. Our vision also includes:
• increased emphasis on actions
to manage the consequences
of flooding;
• increased community and
individual awareness of their
flood risks and adoption of
actions both can take to help
themselves.
There may also be opportunities to
store water or manage run-off and
this requires further investigation.
Aberystwyth, March 2008
14 Environment Agency Wales Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion Rivers Catchment Flood Management Plan
Actions to implement
the policy include:
Review and rationalise our
current actions to ensure they
are appropriate and targeted to
locations of greatest risk.
Carry out studies to determine
the consequences of flooding,
particularly overtopping and breach.
Encourage and support partners to
produce integrated local plans to
manage these consequences,
e.g. Aberystwyth and Llanrhystud.
Encourage and support studies
to identify surface water and
sewer flooding issues and
management options.
Engage and advise the local
communities to encourage people
at risk to take action to help
themselves e.g. to sign up to
and respond to flood warnings.
Encourage and support land
use and management changes
by others, where these deliver
flood risk management and wider
environmental benefits e.g. in the
upper catchments of the Rheidol,
Ystywyth, Aeron and Clarach.
Flood risk management actions
will inform and be informed by the
findings of the West of Wales SMP,
currently being undertaken.