More than two million homes, over five million people and countless businesses are currently under threat from flooding. With a changing climate, rising sea levels and relentless development, the risk keeps growing. Flood and Coastal Risk Management has always been a big issue for us, but now it has centre stage and over half of our entire annual budget. Following the severe flooding in the summer of 2007, we’ve been given new challenges, bigger funding and a broader remit, including coastal management overview and erosion
mapping responsibilities.
We look after 44,500 structures and 24,000 miles of defences across England and Wales – and we’re building around 200 new schemes each year. We’re constantly improving our flood risk maps and 24-hour warning systems. We work with local authorities, utility companies and emergency services to minimise the risk to vital assets. And we influence planners and developers to prevent ill-advised building in high-risk areas. We can’t change the weather, but we can create a climate of heightened awareness and responsible action.
Sea levels are rising, and are predicted to continue rising. The strategies we’re putting in place now and in the near future must stand the test of time – and we’ve increased our budget for this from £500 to £800 million. Our thinking must hold water for the long term. That’s the challenge for our engineers.
That’s your challenge.
At the moment we are not actively recruiting but are accepting speculative applications for roles within our Flood & Coastal Risk Management specialisms. We are always looking to build on the talented teams that already work in these specialisms as the issue of flooding demands more and more attention. As a result we would welcome a speculative application from people like you who are passionate about preventing flooding. As soon as a vacancy arises your application will be considered.
