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The RFCC toolkit
Flooding and coastal erosion are complex natural processes that have social, economic and environmental impacts, predicted to be exacerbated by climate change and anthropogenic influences. East Anglia covers a large area of the Anglian River basin district with a long stretch of coastline; its geology combined with its exposure to rivers and sea creates areas at risk of flooding and/or coastal erosion.
Following the Flood and Water Management Act 2010, twelve Regional Flood and Coastal Committees (RFCC) were formed by the Environment Agency (EA) consisting of appointed members of the EA, Lead Local Flood Authorities (LLFA) and other experienced individuals. An RFCC’s main purpose is to ensure the coherency and efficiency of identifying, communicating and managing flood and coastal erosion risks. East Anglia’s risks are managed by the Anglian (Eastern) and the Anglian (Central) RFCC’s.
A complex spreadsheet record of current and future actions is maintained by the RFCC to support a 10-year investment planning strategy and capital programme. This format makes visualising and using the data difficult, therefore this project has explored approaches that ease data visualisation to assist the RFCC in better decision making in flood and coastal erosion risk management.
Working with the EA and other Risk Management Authorities, shortcomings in the current decision making process were identified. An online survey was undertaken by relevant stakeholders which enabled identification of a ‘web based mapping application’ to be the best form of data visualisation. The survey also highlighted the key functionalities of the web mapping application desired by the RFCC: project information; different risk areas; vulnerable areas; project funding sources; project benefit areas and; outcome measures.
A database was created to store and manage data from the spreadsheet in a manner that enabled the user to efficiently query and update the information on each project. Multiple sources of information were used to propose a clear and user friendly solution, using a combination of spatial and non-spatial data.
Presentations were given to engage with key stakeholders and gain further understanding of their requirements for the final tool. This continual feedback loop from the client contributed to an efficient design improvement iteration process and ultimately resulted in a successful end-user focused product.
A final prototype product was been created to demonstrate the powerful potential capability of a web mapping application. This web tool derives from that work, with subsequent updates and improvements. A vast quantity of data can be visualised dynamically in an easily accessible format to facilitate important decision making for flood and coastal issues. With the essential functionality now in place to support RFCC investment planning and risk assessment, the product demonstrates great potential for further development and expansion of the approach across all RFCC regions. Beyond this, there is further potential to evolve a new product for different users such as the general public or government organisation employees. A poster is available describing the initial student project:
Download the poster
