Ceredigion County Council

A Day in My Life by Annett Birkett, Engineer – Flooding, Land Drainage and Coastal Protection

I grew up in Brandenburg, a beautiful town surrounded by lakes and rivers just outside of Berlin, where my family were and still are farmers. I grew up with the knowledge of how important land drainage is for agriculture and farming. This sparked my interest in engineering from an early age.

I graduated from Berlin College for Engineering in 1987 specialising afterwards from general construction to highway construction and then land drainage. The Berlin Wall came down in 1989; a time for big change which opened up many opportunities to develop the economy. I was involved in lots of projects, including the construction of the existing Autobahn (motorways) and the construction of new sewerage networks in and around Berlin.

In 2003, my family and I moved to Wales and settled in beautiful Ceredigion and in 2006, I started as a Technician with the Highway Department of Ceredigion County Council. Since 2007, I have been an Engineer in the Flooding, Land Drainage and Coastal Protection Section of what is now called Highways and Environmental Services (previously known as Technical Services).

Flooding, Land Drainage and Coastal Protection

Initially, I gave advice to the Planning Department, as a statutory consultee as part of the planning process on general drainage and flooding issues. I also dealt with localised flooding problems, land drainage and coastal protection works.

After the 2007 summer floods in Wales, where exceptionally heavy rain caused flash flooding in parts of Wales and the River Severn overflowed its banks, the profile of flooding was raised from a local issue to a national one. This meant that my duties developed significantly, as I was acting as consultee for the new legislation that was being introduced. I attended workshops and steering group meetings to represent and negotiate on behalf of Ceredigion County Council. This meant I was heavily involved in influencing ideas and solutions into the new legislation, strategies, policies and plans in relation to flood risk management.

My duties

Currently, my time is split between being at the office and travelling up and down the county carrying out site inspections and speaking to local residents.

I make sure that the Council complies with the National Strategy for Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management in Wales, which includes investigating all flooding within Ceredigion. Part of this duty is to issue consents for any works to an ordinary watercourse. This ensures that the works will not adversely affect the watercourse and/ or environment and to safeguard against any increase in flood risk to third parties.

Natural watercourses serve to drain the land and assist greatly in supporting animal and plant life. Generally, a watercourse is any channel through which water flows and can be natural or man-made, open on the surface or enclosed underground (such as in a culvert). With the vastness of a rural county like ours, that has an abundance of both natural and man-made watercourses, you can imagine how busy it can get when carrying out site inspections on critical watercourses and communicating with the general public, contractors, developers and landowners.

Flooding, Land Drainage and Coastal Protection

My duties

Currently my time is split between being at the office and travelling up and down the county carrying out site inspections and speaking to local residents.

Communication is key

The need to communicate to a wide range of people is an essential ability in my role; I liaise regularly with the Welsh Government and Natural Resources Wales on joint partnership schemes.

I provide information to officers within other departments of the Council regarding Land Drainage, Flood and Coastal Erosion, Sustainable Drainage Systems and other water-related issues to help them assess situations, problems or complaints. I also provide specific specialist advice, guidance and information to Councillors, Community Councillors and government delegates on these matters. It’s a bit like detective work sometimes – finding vital facts, negotiating and solving problems.

Due to the requirements of new and changing legislation affecting Flood and Coastal Erosion, I make sure that I’m on hand to keep everyone in the services up to date. I provide advice on how to implement new policies, to reduce and manage the risk of flooding or amend existing policies, as it is not sustainable or acceptable to continue to build more and bigger drainage systems and defences.

I was involved in the coastal protection schemes at Aberaeron and Borth. These schemes have enabled both areas to be better equipped at dealing with the ever-increasing threat that the ocean poses to our coastal areas.

Many people may perceive that my duties would be a priority during the Autumn and Winter months, when the risk of flooding and storms increases. The reality is that to manage all sources of flooding and coastal erosion and setting out aims, objectives, actions and ways of working together with Emergency Planners and other Lead Local Flood Authorities, it is an all year round, continuous task.

Forewarned is forearmed

Flooding can be damaging to people’s lives, homes and livelihoods. Those affected by flooding can feel extremely low, stressed and overwhelmed, and unsure where they can access help and information. Over the years, I have helped to create guides on how people can protect themselves and their property against any future flooding. These guides include the rights and responsibilities of riverside (riparian) owners - the Council has certain powers but ultimately it is not responsible for works or maintenance on ordinary watercourses. The Council regulates, oversees and advises on necessary works on ordinary watercourses to prevent flooding in the catchment area. However, the responsibility and cost of any maintenance or repair works rests with the riverside owner. I provide this information to the general public and communities through formal presentations and public speaking engagements.

For more information on Coastal & Flood Risk Management:

http://www.ceredigion.gov.uk/resident/coast-countryside/coastal-flood-risk-management/

No two days are ever the same in my role and although the job is demanding and challenging at times, it is extremely rewarding. When I know that I’m helping to ensure that new developments install sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) and residents do all they can to protect their own properties and limit damage to our beautiful county, it gives me a personal sense of satisfaction.

28/11/2018