About seven years helping flood schemes get funded, built and run, working with councils, schools, farmers, water companies and emergency services. For each project I say exactly what my part was, and how it maps to ADB, World Bank and UN practice.
From a model to a funded, delivered, operated system
Work
Placement, Partnerships & Strategic OverviewEnvironment Agency, 2019
Placement, Asset ManagementEnvironment Agency, 2020
Flood Risk Officer, West MidlandsEnvironment Agency, Sep 2020–23
Flood Risk Advisor, Partnerships & Strategic Overview, LondonEnvironment Agency, 2023–25
Independent consultancy, GhanaNational river and coastal flood risk, 2025–26
Study
MSc Water Science, Policy and ManagementUniversity of Oxford, 2025–26
FdSc (Hons), then BSc, Flood and Coastal EngineeringBrunel University London, 2018–22
Placements ran alongside Brunel studies; the Oxford MSc ran alongside the Ghana consultancy. Bars show approximate periods; dates are given in each row.
Hisham Nuhu, CV and assignment record, October 2026.
Finance, partnerships and delivery
I helped councils and Environment Agency teams get flood schemes funded and built. The councils or project managers led the schemes; each card says exactly what my part was. The money came through England’s flood investment system: a national grant (grant-in-aid), contributions from partners and a local levy, released as business cases passed each approval stage.
est. >US$2m
Environment Agency partnership contact, 2023–25
A council-led programme bringing sustainable drainage and nature-based features onto school grounds, to cut surface-water flood risk and give pupils hands-on climate education. My part: fortnightly progress meetings and checks with the council.
SuDS in Sutton’s Schools: the projectest. US$1.7m
Environment Agency partnership advisor, 2023–25
A park-based basin that holds back storm water and protects homes downstream. It is designed for a 1-in-100-year storm plus 40% for climate change, and was completed in 2025 (council-led). My part: partnership support on funding and procurement, weekly finance tracking, delay analysis and site visits.
The Chessington basin: the projectest. US$1.5m
Environment Agency partnership advisor, 2023–25
A wetland and storage basins at the source of the Beverley Brook, reducing flood risk to around 200 homes after the July 2021 floods (council-led; construction 2026). My part: development and funding support.
Worcester Park: the projectest. US$1.5m
Support project manager, 2023–25
Refurbishment to make three Environment Agency pumping stations eel-compliant under the Eels (England and Wales) Regulations 2009 while keeping their flood-risk function. Station names are withheld. My part, supporting the project manager: hydrological and hydraulic input, scoping and planning, task tracking and quarterly finance.
The refurbishment: the projectest. US$120k + est. US$100k
Delivery support, 2023–25
Two Environment Agency river models, including Beverley Brook, that update the Flood Map for Planning. My part was delivery support: scope, programme, delivery tracking, quarterly finance and audit.
The flood map models: the projectest. US$100k (modelling)
Hydrologist and hydraulic modeller, 2020–25
The hydrology was entirely my work. I built the 1D–2D hydraulic model jointly with an Environment Agency modelling colleague. I also carried out my own cost–benefit appraisal of the options (a self-initiated appraisal, not a formal Environment Agency submission): a simplified appraisal on a standard basis, using the damages from my 2022 study, gives an earth bund a benefit–cost ratio of about 4.6 (range 3.3–7.0), a set-back flood wall 1.6 and an embankment 1.0. My 2022 appraisal reported ratios of 6.8 (wall) and 3.7 (embankment) on its original cost basis. The scheme delivered was a flood bund built by the farmers.
Read the Hamstall studyValues are estimates: scheme values as delivered, and modelling values as the cost of the work if contracted externally. Council-led schemes were led by the boroughs named. Public facts come from council pages.
Finance and partnerships
Flood schemes in England are paid for by a national grant plus local contributions, much like an ADB or World Bank project. Both systems have the same moving parts: co-financing and counterpart contributions, appraisal gates, results indicators, controlled payments and safeguards. I worked under the 2020 partnership-funding model, and I follow the reforms that apply from April 2026.
Grant-in-aid is paid at set rates per outcome, such as households better protected, with higher rates for the most deprived areas. Partners contribute the rest of the whole-life cost. In development-bank terms: results-based, equity-weighted allocation with co-financing.
Regional flood and coastal committees, with a majority of local-authority members, consent to the regional programme and to the local levy. In development-bank terms: a programme steering committee and sub-national counterpart funding.
From April 2026 England’s funding policy replaces the partnership-funding calculator with prioritisation by net benefit per pound, keeping regional consent and the local levy. My experience is of the 2020 model.
| UK practice (my experience) | ADB term | World Bank term |
|---|---|---|
| Financing | ||
| Flood and coastal grant-in-aidCentral government capital grant, administered by the Environment Agency | Sovereign financing, with government counterpart funds; the DMF lists inputs by financing partner | Investment project financing (IBRD/IDA), with government counterpart funding |
| Partnership-funding contributionsCouncils, water companies, developers and other partners | Cofinancing, joint or parallel, and counterpart funds | Co-financing and counterpart funding |
| Local levyRaised from councils with the consent of a regional flood and coastal committee | Sub-national (local government) counterpart contribution | Sub-national co-financing |
| Preparation and approval | ||
| Five-case business caseStrategic outline, outline and full business case above £3m | Concept paper, due diligence, then the RRP with its DMF and PAM, to the Board | Project Concept Note, appraisal, then the PAD, to the Board |
| Independent assurance and financial approvalNational assurance service; large-project review group for the largest schemes | Quality-at-entry and peer review | Quality enhancement and decision reviews |
| Outcome measuresFor example, properties better protected from flooding | DMF outcome indicators, with baselines and targets | PDO-level results indicators in the results framework |
| Implementation and results | ||
| Partnership advisor to council-led schemesMy role, 2023–25 | PMU/PIU support to the executing and implementing agencies | Implementation support to the PIU |
| Forecasts, grant claims and weekly accountingClaim forecasts, grant claims, change control | Disbursement projections, withdrawal applications, change in scope | Disbursement forecasts, interim financial reports, statements of expenditure, restructuring |
| Procurement supportHelping partners plan, tender and contract | Procurement plan under the ADB Procurement Policy and Regulations | Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers, PPSD and STEP |
| Environmental complianceEels Regulations, Water Framework Directive, permits | Environmental and social safeguards (ADB ESF) and the environmental management plan | ESF standards ESS1, ESS3 and ESS6; ESMP and ESCP |
| Monthly updates, quarterly finance and auditReported to the funder | Quarterly progress reports; audited project financial statements | Inputs to the ISR; interim financial reports; audit |
| Closure report and final accountResults verified against outcome measures | Project completion report (PCR) | Implementation Completion and Results Report (ICR) |
Choose whose terms to show. The equivalences are a translation, not an identity: the systems differ in detail, and the UK row describes the system I worked in.
Sources: GOV.UK guidance on FCERM partnership funding, business cases and grant claims; ADB Guidelines for Preparing a Design and Monitoring Framework (2024) and project administration manuals; ADB and World Bank Environmental and Social Frameworks; World Bank investment project financing cycle.
Plan, finance and deliver
Every scheme passes a series of checks, or gates, before and while money is spent. Each gate has an ADB and World Bank equivalent. I worked within all six, mainly on progress and financial control.
My role at the gatesI worked within these gates. Business cases were prepared and approved by the scheme owners and the funder.
What happens
The partner submits a project proposal: project type, funding sources, spend profile, contribution to national targets and a partnership-funding calculation. The six-year programme is refreshed every year.
ADB and World Bank
Pipeline development and annual programming: the country operations business plan (ADB) or the country partnership pipeline and Project Concept Note (World Bank).
My part
Partnership advisor to council-led schemes in the pipeline, including funding and procurement support.
What happens
SMART objectives, a long list and short list of options, and cost–benefit or cost-effectiveness analysis. Costs are whole-life, discounted, and include risk contingency and optimism bias.
ADB and World Bank
Economic analysis in due diligence (ADB) and economic and financial analysis in the PAD (World Bank); feasibility and project preparation.
My part
At Hamstall Ridware I carried out my own cost–benefit appraisal of the options (a self-initiated appraisal, not a formal Environment Agency submission).
What happens
HM Treasury’s five cases: strategic (need and fit), economic (value for money), commercial (procurement and contract), financial (affordability and funding) and management (delivery, risk and governance). A single-stage case below £3m; strategic outline, outline and full business case above.
ADB and World Bank
The Report and Recommendation of the President with its DMF and PAM (ADB); the Project Appraisal Document (World Bank).
My part
Worked within the business-case gates for the schemes I supported.
What happens
Technical assurance (locally below £3m; a national assurance service above, and a large-project review group for the largest schemes), then financial approval.
ADB and World Bank
Quality-at-entry and peer review (ADB); quality enhancement and decision reviews (World Bank); then Board approval.
My part
Helped keep partner schemes assurance-ready. Business cases were prepared and approved by the scheme owners and the funder.
What happens
Claim forecasts, grant claims for completed work, change control for cost or scope changes, and monthly project updates that feed national reporting.
ADB and World Bank
Disbursement projections and withdrawal applications, quarterly progress reports and change in scope (ADB); disbursement forecasts, interim financial reports, the ISR and restructuring (World Bank).
My part
This is where most of my programme work sat: progress meetings and checks with councils, finance tracking and forecasting, delay analysis, and quarterly finance and audit.
What happens
A project closure report within six months of completion and a final statement of account, with results reported against the outcome measures.
ADB and World Bank
The project completion report (ADB); the Implementation Completion and Results Report, validated by IEG (World Bank).
My part
Evidence kept through delivery (accounts, audit and site records) so that closure and results reporting are straightforward.
Warn and respond
For 10 weeks I was on the Environment Agency’s flood warning rota for south-east London: watching rivers and forecasts, issuing warnings, and keeping police and ambulance services involved. “It is impossible to entirely eliminate the risk from flooding” (World Bank, Cities and Flooding, 2012), so warnings have to work. This was end-to-end early warning in a mature national system: reading forecasts, deciding against thresholds (including overnight), sending warnings by several channels, and coordinating with emergency services.
As Flood Warning Duty Officer for south-east London, I spent 10 weeks on the Environment Agency’s incident rota. On duty, the job is to turn forecasts and live data into timely warnings. I watched the Flood Forecasting Centre’s daily Flood Guidance Statement and Met Office rainfall forecasts, and checked the Environment Agency’s forecasting system (IMFS, built on Delft-FEWS) against the trigger thresholds for each flood warning area. Overnight, I responded to telemetry alerts from river and rain gauges.
When thresholds were forecast or reached, I issued flood alerts and flood warnings to registered residents and businesses by phone, text and email; they were also published online and through Floodline. I held calls with first responders, sharing the forecast, its uncertainty and the likely impacts with Local Resilience Forum partners so councils and emergency services could prepare.
The most severe incident escalated from yellow to red for the south-east. Throughout it, I kept the police and ambulance services involved as the multi-agency response escalated. In extreme cases I briefed managers, the police and central government. Afterwards I wrote up the event, so that decisions and timings were on record for review.
Escalation in the most severe incident
The duty cycle describes the standard Environment Agency incident role. The escalation is from my own record of my most severe incident.
Sources: my incident duty record; GOV.UK guidance on flood alerts and warnings and the Flood Guidance Statement; UN Early Warnings for All.
UNDRR’s Words into Action guide on multi-hazard early warning systems (2023) names the same four components: disaster risk knowledge; detection, monitoring, analysing and forecasting; dissemination and communication; preparedness.
| Pillar | UK system element | What I did |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Risk knowledge | Flood warning areas and thresholds built from river models and flood maps | Delivery support for two Flood Map for Planning models; the Hamstall hydrology, and its 1D–2D model built jointly with an Environment Agency colleague |
| 2 Monitoring and forecasting | Telemetry, rain gauges and radar; Met Office forecasts; the Flood Guidance Statement; IMFS catchment forecasts | Responded overnight to telemetry alerts; checked forecasts against thresholds |
| 3 Warning dissemination | Public flood alerts, flood warnings and severe flood warnings by phone, text, email, online and Floodline | Issued alerts and warnings |
| 4 Preparedness and response | Local Resilience Forums; tiered multi-agency command; police, fire, ambulance and councils | Calls with first responders; kept police and ambulance involved through a yellow-to-red escalation; post-event records |
Flood warning duty: the project page
Plan and deliver
Permits and planning advice stop new river works and buildings from adding to flood risk. I assessed flood risk activity permits in the West Midlands (2020–23) and gave planning advice in London (2023–25), applying the evidence case by case.
Permitting, West Midlands, 2020–23
Anyone working on or near a main river or flood defence (within 8 m of a main river, 16 m if tidal) needs a permit. I assessed applications, judged the flood risk and potential damage, and set conditions.
Planning advice, south London, 2023–25
Advice to councils on developments in and near Flood Zones. I reviewed flood risk assessments against the national planning policy tests (the sequential and exception tests).
Water Framework Directive
Schemes must not harm the ecological status of rivers, so they need a Water Framework Directive assessment. At Stafford Common I wrote technical reports to flood risk management (FCERM) and Water Framework Directive standards, and presented the findings.
Eels (England and Wales) Regulations 2009
The three-station refurbishment, on which I was support project manager, was driven by the regulations’ requirements for eel screens and passes.
Flood risk permits and planning advice: the project
Finance and partnerships
Flood schemes depend on many partners. These are the ones I worked with, and what the work involved. “Disaster risk reduction requires an all-of-society engagement and partnership” (Sendai Framework, para 19(d)).
| Partner | Their role in flood risk management | My work with them |
|---|---|---|
| Lead local flood authorities (county and unitary councils, London boroughs) | Lead on local flood risk and usually lead council schemes and bid for grant | Partnership support to borough-led schemes: SuDS in Sutton’s Schools (fortnightly progress meetings and checks), the Chessington basin, Worcester Park (development and funding). Earlier, regular liaison on Hamstall Ridware and Stafford. |
| Schools | Hosts and beneficiaries of sustainable drainage on school land | SuDS in Sutton’s Schools, through the council: flood risk reduction plus green education (council-led) |
| Farmers and landowners | Floodplain storage, bunds and natural flood management happen mostly on private farmland | Hamstall Ridware: the farmers built the bund |
| Water companies | Own the sewer and drainage networks schemes discharge into; often co-funders | Both south London basins release flow into the water company’s network |
| Environment Agency teams | Asset management, operations, modelling, environment | Support project manager for the pumping stations; delivery support for the flood map models |
Every assignment in one table, with period, role, scope and estimated value. The four employment periods run in sequence, and each project sits inside its period. Environment Agency and council references are available on request.
| Period | Assignment | Role | Scope | Est. value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025–26 Ghana: independent consultancy | ||||
| 2025–26 | National river and coastal flood risk, GhanaIndependent consultancy. Presented for discussion with the World Bank; results now shared with the World Bank’s Accra-based team | Independent consultant (sole analyst) | Assessed national river flood damage and people affected across 260 districts under uncertainty, using Monte Carlo (Latin hypercube) analysis: 11.7 million district-level damage calculations. Ranked district priorities (Act, Investigate, Monitor). Built national coastal extreme water levels (GTSM and ERA5, wave setup, extreme-value analysis, return levels) and static connected-inundation scenarios, including 2050 sea-level rise. Produced decision-support dashboard views (prototype) for policymakers. | est. US$155kest. US$90k river; est. US$65k coastal |
| 2023–25 Environment Agency, London: Flood Risk Advisor, Partnerships & Strategic Overview | ||||
| 2023–25 | SuDS in Sutton’s SchoolsLondon Borough of Sutton (programme lead); schools | Partnership contact | Fortnightly progress meetings and checks with the council on its programme of sustainable drainage and nature-based features on school sites. | est. >US$2m |
| 2023–25 | Sir Francis Barker Recreation Ground flood storage basin, ChessingtonRoyal Borough of Kingston upon Thames; water company | Partnership advisor | Supported delivery of a basin that stores flood water and reduces risk to the community: weekly accounting and forecasting, programme and delay analysis, funding, procurement, site visits. | est. US$1.7m |
| 2023–25 | Worcester Park Flood Alleviation Scheme (nature-based), south LondonLondon Borough of Sutton; water company | Partnership advisor | Supported development and funding of a nature-based flood relief scheme (wetland and storage basins): accounting, programme, funding and procurement. | est. US$1.5m |
| 2023–25 | Pumping-station refurbishment, three stations, LondonEnvironment Agency asset and operations teams (names withheld) | Support project manager | Eel-compliance refurbishment under the Eels (England and Wales) Regulations 2009: hydrological and hydraulic input, scope detailing, scheme planning, task delegation and tracking, quarterly finance. | est. US$1.5m |
| 2023–25 | Two flood map models, including Beverley BrookEnvironment Agency modelling team; consultants | Delivery support | Delivery support for two models for the Flood Map for Planning: scope, programme, delivery tracking, quarterly finance and audit. | est. US$120k+ est. US$100k |
| 2023–25 | Planning advice, south LondonLocal planning authorities | Planning advisor (statutory consultee) | Expert judgement on developments in and near Flood Zones; reviewed flood risk assessments against national planning policy (sequential and exception tests). | — |
| 2023–25 | Flood incident duty, south-east LondonFlood Forecasting Centre; Local Resilience Forum partners; police and ambulance services; local authorities | Flood Warning Duty Officer | 10 weeks on incident duty. Responded overnight to telemetry alerts, checked forecasts against thresholds, issued flood alerts and warnings, held calls with first responders, and kept police and ambulance services engaged through an escalation from yellow to red for the south-east. Wrote post-event records. | — |
| 2020–23 Environment Agency, West Midlands (Birmingham): Flood Risk Officer | ||||
| 2020–23model rebuild and hydrology update completed 2024–25 | Hamstall Ridware, River Blithe, StaffordshireLead local flood authority (Staffordshire County Council); farmers and landowners; village community | Hydrologist and hydraulic modeller | The hydrology was entirely my work: design flows (FEH statistical and ReFH2), routing the flood through an upstream water-supply reservoir, extreme-value analysis and climate-change uplifts. Commissioned channel survey. I built the linked 1D–2D hydraulic model (Flood Modeller–TUFLOW) jointly with an Environment Agency modelling colleague. Mapped properties at risk and estimated damages, including mental-health impacts. I also carried out my own cost–benefit appraisal of the options (a self-initiated appraisal, not a formal Environment Agency submission). Outcome: a flood bund built by the farmers. | est. US$100kmodelling |
| 2020–23 | Stafford Common (Sandyford Brook), StaffordLead local flood authority; borough council; water company | Hydrologist | Analysed extreme river flows under climate change in a heavily urbanised catchment; characterised several watercourses and represented urbanisation in the flow estimates. Wrote technical reports to FCERM and Water Framework Directive standards and presented the findings. | est. US$40kmodelling, within a >US$500k project |
| 2020–23 | Flood risk activity permits, West Midlands | Permitting officer | Assessed permit applications for works on or near main rivers and flood defences; judged flood risk and damage, and set conditions. | — |
| 2019–20 Environment Agency, West Midlands: placements, alongside Brunel studies | ||||
| 2019–20 | Placements: Partnerships & Strategic Overview; Asset Management | Placement | Supported flood risk and asset teams. Designed a car-park layout on an Environment Agency asset (2020). | — |
Values are estimates: scheme values as delivered, and modelling values as the cost of the work if contracted externally.