What Are Property Flood Resilience Assessments?
Independent, accredited assessors should conduct property flood resilience assessments in accordance with the Code of Practice BS851188.
An Analysis of PFRs And Who Can Conduct Them
Independent, accredited assessors should conduct property flood resilience assessments in accordance with the Code of Practice BS851188, which provides guidance on assessing and managing flood risk.
The assessments involve assessing the level of flood risk, existing flood defence measures, and potential additional measures to improve resilience.
Accredited assessors must have completed CIWEM-approved training for Property Flood Resilience to conduct assessments in accordance with the Code of Practice.
The Code of Practice
The Code of Practice BS851188 is divided into six stages:
- Data Collection: Collecting data on the property and its surroundings, including flood risk and existing flood protection measures.
- Risk Assessment: Assessing the level of flood risk and potential impact of flooding on the property.
- Risk Management: Identifying suitable flood risk measures to reduce the risk of flooding.
- Risk Reduction: Implementing the identified flood risk measures.
- Review: Regularly reviewing and updating flood risk measures.
- Maintenance: Maintaining flood risk measures to ensure they remain in good condition.
Independent Flood Risk Assessments
An independent FRA is core to the code of practice requirements. It ensures that recommendations for resilience measures are not provided by the installer, giving you the comfort that the designs are suitable, tailored to your property and in line with the national code of practice.
What Happens in an Independent FRA?
A site visit: One of our assessors will visit the property to understand local risks, take photos and take measurements of property openings and risk areas for flood resilience. These measurements may include the size and location of windows, doors, and other openings, the number and type of toilets, air bricks and any other route through which flood water may enter.
A desk study: This includes assessing the depth of flooding and the potential impact of flooding on the property as well as the likely cause, depth and risk from flooding to the property.
Bringing It All Together
The outcome of the flood risk assessment and site visit are brought together in a single, easy-to-understand report. The assessor will clearly state the risk sources of flooding and make recommendations for any additional measures needed to improve the property’s flood resilience.
Flood Resistance Measures can be fitted to the outside of a property. They form a physical barrier between the floodwater and the inside of the building.
Flood Resilience and Adaptation supplements flood resistance measures and includes things like flood-resilient flooring, kitchens and internal fittings. The aim is that, if flooding does occur, the cost and time to recover is greatly reduced.
When recommending additional measures, assessors should remain market neutral, and not recommend specific company products. As a general rule, Aegaea recommends that, where possible, all PFR should be kitemarked to BS851188.