Work · South London
Flood map models: Beverley Brook and a second river model
Delivery support for two Environment Agency river flood models that update the Flood Map for Planning and regional flood awareness.
ContextWhy it mattered
The Beverley Brook rises at Worcester Park and runs 14.3 km through Sutton, Kingston, Merton, Wandsworth and Richmond to the Thames, draining 64 km². Detailed Environment Agency river models feed the Flood Map for Planning, which sets the Flood Zones used in planning decisions. The national map was refreshed on 25 March 2025 with new risk data, climate change extents and, for the first time, surface water.
Partners: Environment Agency modelling and mapping teams; Specialist modelling consultants
My roleWhat I did
Delivery support: scope, programme, delivery tracking, quarterly finance and audit
- Gave delivery support to two Environment Agency river flood model updates, including the Beverley Brook model.
- Supported the scope and programme, and tracked delivery.
- Ran quarterly finance and audit checks.
Project cycleHow the project moved, stage by stage
Who led each stage, and what it produced. Filled steps were mine; outlined steps were led by others.
My role (3 of 6 stages) Context: led by the council, partners or the Environment Agency, not my actions
- 1NeedEA-led
Keeping the Flood Map for Planning current with improved river models.
Result Model updates in the Environment Agency programme.
ADB: Knowledge product identification · World Bank: Identification of technical assistance or analytics
- 2Scope and programmeMy role
Supported the scope and programme of the two model updates.
Result Model updates kept to scope and programme.
ADB: Consultant supervision (support) · World Bank: Contract management (support)
- 3DeliveryMy role
Tracked delivery of the model updates.
Result Models progressed towards Flood Map for Planning use.
ADB: Consultant supervision · World Bank: Contract management
- 4Finance and auditMy role
Ran quarterly finance and audit checks.
Result Budgets kept well scoped and managed.
ADB: Financial management · World Bank: Financial management
- 5DisseminationEA-led
The Environment Agency publishes model outputs in the Flood Map for Planning.
Result Public flood maps for planning and awareness.
ADB: Knowledge products; dissemination · World Bank: Risk information products
- 6LearningEA-led
Later Beverley Brook update phases continued after my tenure.
Result Continued model improvement.
ADB: Sustainability of information systems · World Bank: Sustainability; operating and maintaining data systems
PeopleWho it affects, and how results were shared
Who it affects
- Residents, planners and developers who use the Flood Map for Planning
- Communities along the Beverley Brook (Sutton, Kingston, Merton, Wandsworth, Richmond)
How people were involved
- Outputs reach the public through the published Flood Map for Planning. my role
What changes for them
- Better flood maps steer new homes away from risk and help residents understand theirs.
How results were shared
- Published flood maps (Flood Map for Planning) supporting regional flood risk awareness. EA-led
- Internal reporting: quarterly finance and audit. my record
Public evidenceThe Flood Map for Planning was refreshed on 25 March 2025 with new national risk data, climate change extents and, for the first time, surface water. Source: ADEPT briefing: Flood Map for Planning update (25 Mar 2025).
MethodsMethods and tools
- Delivery tracking
- Quarterly budgeting and audit
- Flood Map for Planning (Flood Zones)
- Linked 1D–2D river modelling (client-side understanding)
OutcomeWhat happened
Two model updates supported in 2023–25 (est. US$120k and est. US$100k). The models feed the Flood Map for Planning; later update phases ran after I left the Environment Agency.
In numbersWhat a river model update feeds: Flood Map for Planning layers (2025)
| Flood Map for Planning layer | Present day | With climate change |
|---|---|---|
| Flood Zones 2 and 3 (ignore defences) | Yes | Yes |
| Defended and undefended extents | Yes | Yes |
| 3.3% AEP defended extent | Yes | Yes |
| Surface-water flood risk (new in 2025) | Yes | Not applicable |
Models I supported
- Beverley Brook est. US$120k
- Second river model est. US$100k
ADEPT briefing on the 25 March 2025 Flood Map for Planning update (layers); model values are my estimates.
SkillsSkills gained
- Delivery tracking, finance and auditSupporting technical model updates to scope, programme and budget.
- Hydraulic modellingA client-side view of river modelling: what is specified, tracked and checked.
- Flood risk assessmentHow detailed models become national flood maps and Flood Zones.
- Policy and regulationThe link from model to Flood Map for Planning to development decisions.
TransferHow this applies internationally
ADB RRBI. Supporting delivery of the models a basin authority relies on. RRBI aims to “consolidate existing models and hydrological data systems” and to assess the tools in use. I have seen that lifecycle from the client side, in a delivery-support role.
World Bank (procurement and QA support). Tracking the delivery and budgets of consultancy model updates. World Bank hydromet and flood risk projects need modelling services packaged, procured and checked against their terms of reference.
UNDRR / Sendai para 24(c). Risk maps as public risk information. Sendai para 24(c) asks for “location-based disaster risk information, including risk maps”, and UNDRR’s risk modelling and analytics build on maps like these.
Impact-based forecasting. Hazard maps for single design events. Impact-based forecasting needs hazard maps “derived from deterministic events or a stochastic event catalogue”. Flood-map models supply the first kind: one map for each design flood.
SourcesSources
Value est. US$120k (Beverley Brook) and est. US$100k (second model): model values. The estimate is mine.