Part of the BRE Trust

Future–proofing New and Existing Buildings Flood Resilient Design and Construction Techniques K aty H unte r B R E S cotland 28 th A pril 2015

– W ho are B R E – F lood R isk in the U K – R etro fitting F lood R es ilience – N ew B u ild F lood R es ilience – Insurance M atte rs – B R E C entre For R es ilience

Introduction

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Flood Risk in the UK Flooding is one of the highest order risks for the built environment and is expected to be more frequent throughout the 21st Century

– N orthern Ire land : up to 66 ,000 p roperties (7 .5% ) – S cotland : 250 ,000 p roperties (10% ) – E ng land and W ales: 5 .2m illion p roperties (4 .5% )

– U K to ta l: approx im ate ly 5 .5m illion

Flood Risk in the UK

Climate Change Urbanisation

P luv ia l flood risk accounts fo r one third o f a ll flood risk in the U K and con tro lling th is risk a lone cou ld requ ire investm ent o f £150 million per year. Insurance c la im s from the 2007 surface w ater floods (e .g . in S heffie ld , H u ll) ou tnum bered c la im s fo r rive r and sea flood ing by 6:1

Retrofitting Resilience 80% of the building stock in 2050 already exists today – how do we protect these properties from flooding?

A pply ing flood res ilience techno log ies

– Types o f flood ing – F lood risk m anagem ent s tra tegy (res is tance o r res ilience) – D iffe ren t types o f techno log ies – M ain tenance cons idera tions – Insta lla tion

SMARTeST – Smart Technologies, Systems and Tools

– The a im o f the S M A R TeS T pro jec t w as to im prove the R oad to M arke t fo r innova tive F lood R es ilien t (FR e) techno logy. Four ca tegories w ere cons idered :

In fras truc ture Techno log ies P roducts to p ro tect in fras tructu re from the scouring e ffec ts o f flood w ate r

B u ild ing Techno log ies Inc lud ing w ate rp roo fing and w ate r res is tan t coa tings and sea lan ts .

A pertu re Techno log ies P roducts to p ro tect from flood ing a t a bu ild ing leve l.

P erim eter Techno log ies To p ro tect a com m unity o r g roup o f bu ild ings from flood ing .

SMARTeST

– P erim eter and apertu re techno log ies can be tem porary , dem ountab le o r perm anent – and can be activa ted m anua lly (th rough hum an in te rven tion) o r au tom atica lly , by buoyancy o r m echan ica l ac tion .

– S om e o f these techno log ies can a lso be ca lled Property Level Protection (P LP ) – w hen ins ta lled a t p roperty leve l.

New Build Flood Resilience Publications Home Quality Mark Research Activity

BRE Digest – Flood-Resilient Building (DG 523)

– Leg is la tion and p lann ing – F lood-risk assessm ent – F lood perfo rm ance o f bu ild ings

– S truc tu ra l perfo rm ance – M ateria l perfo rm ance – Im pacts o f con tam ina tion

– B u ild ing in flood-risk areas – D esign ing flood-res ilien t

bu ild ings – Avo idance – R es is tance – R es ilience

– S usta inab le deve lopm ent and flood risk .

Home Quality Mark

– The H om e Q ua lity M ark is a new rigorous s tandard fo r new hom es. – It p rov ides consum ers w ith the too ls to m ake an in fo rm ed cho ice w hen

buy ing o r ren ting a new hom e. – E nab les housebu ilders to d iffe ren tia te the ir p roducts and to a rticu la te the

benefits o f new hom es. Encouraging design

decisions that will make your home more resilient to environmental damage, flood and wear and tear.

Flood Resilient Property – Construction – Trad itiona l b rick and b lock m asonry cav ity w a lls , tim ber firs t floor and roo f. C oncre te

s lab and foundations – p ile foundations w here prob lem atic so il cond itions ex is t.

– The house is des igned to res is t w ater up to 600m m in depth a fte r w h ich w ater is a llow ed to en ter in to the property to reduce pressure on the s tructure .

– A utom atic open ing w indow pane ls (flood in le ts) a re triggered by loca lised sensors to a llow a contro lled inundation o f flood w ater in to the property .

– F lood res is tan t doors au tom atica lly p ro tect aga inst w ater en try .

– In terna l w a lls a re w ater res ilien t, us ing m ateria ls w h ich w ill a llow fast recovery: concre te b lock partitions, lim e p laster o r m agnesium ox ide board as fin ish ing – sk irting is sea led w ith an in te rna l cav ity m em brane.

W a ll to F loor Junction (O ption A ) A prim ary and a secondary layer o f w aterproofing w as des igned: – W ater tank ing be low s lab to res is t w ater p ressure (prim ary

layer) – C avity d ra inage fo r w ater co llection a fte r flood (secondary

layer)

W a ll to F loor Junction (O ption B ) W aterproof concre te u tilised – aga in a prim ary and secondary layer o f w aterproofing w as des igned: – C oncre te s lab and w a ll w ith w ater res is tan t add itive

(p rim ary layer) – C avity d ra inage fo r w ater co llection / rem ova l fo llow ing a

flood (secondary layer) – Fu ll cav ity insu la tion (c losed ce ll / w aterproof)

Flood Resilient Property – Services

– A M echan ica l V entila tion H eat R ecovery (M V H R ) system is insta lled in add ition to na tura l ventila tion – th is w ill a id dry ing out a fte r a flood.

– A ll serv ice entry po in ts are sea led (or ra ised w here poss ib le / p ractica l), p lus a ll e lectrics and app liances are ra ised above the des ign flood leve l.

– K itchen un its be low flood leve l a re o f w aterproof m ateria l (p lastic o r s ta in less s tee l hardw are). K itchen un it doors and draw ers are sea led.

Sewerage

– S ew age system has a non-re turn va lve

– D ra inage p ipes are sea led th rough the “flood proof layer”

– Inspection cham bers are fitted w ith an ti-lift lid

– D ra inage p ipes are covered and locked in concre te to res is t low er ground w ater p ressure and prevent dam age

Post-flood drainage

– C hanne ls , p ipes and dra ins are bu ilt in to the floor

– D ra in connections in to m an ho le are fitted w ith non-re turn va lve and anti-lift lid

– P ipes are fitted w ith non-re turn va lves to avo id back-flow o f sew age

Flood Resilient Property – Drainage and Water Services

Flood Resilient Property – Flood Warning and Sensors

– A series o f w ater sensors are loca ted outs ide the property and on entry po in ts , linked to an in te rna l rem ote a la rm .

– E m ergency rescue locations are des ignated a t g round and firs t floor leve ls .

– A utom ation is essentia l to a llow the various techno log ies to w ork in synergy and prov ide early w arn ing , em ergency contact and autom atic sa fe ty m easures.

– E xterna l door sensors and in terna l g round leve l sensor adv ises o f the presence o f w ater.

– A ll sensors are connected to a m ain sounder to g ive acoustic and v isua l w arn ing

– P otentia l to connect the m ain sounder to an autom ated ca ll system / em ergency authorities

– F lood E m ergency K it to be s tored on firs t floor

Insurance Matters Statement of Principles Flood Re Property Flood Resilience Database (PFR-d)

Statement of Principles – Government and insurance industry flood agreement – A n agreem ent be tw een the A B I and the G overnm ent: Insurers

com m itted to o ffe r insurance to m any p rev ious ly flooded o r a t-risk custom ers in the U K .

– In each country in the U K , the na tiona l body w ith responsib ility fo r flood ing carries ou t flood risk assessm ents w h ich insurers use to de te rm ine how the S ta tem ent o f P rinc ip les is en fo rced .

– The agreem ent guaran tees tha t insure rs w ill: – renew ex is ting custom ers ’ hom e insurance if the ir p roperty is no t

considered to be a t s ign ificant risk o f flood ing – renew the hom e insurance o f ex is ting custom ers w hose properties are

considered to be a t s ign ificant risk o f flood ing , as long as there are G overnm ent o r agency led p lans to reduce the flood risk in the area w ith in five years

– continue cover fo r the new ow ners o f a prev ious ly flooded or a t-risk property if the orig ina l custom er dec ides to se ll.

Flood Re

– F lood R e w ill be run and financed by insurers as a not-for-profit fund w h ich w ill cover the cost o f flood c la im s from h igh risk hom es.

– Insurers w ill pass the flood risk e lem ent from h igh risk househo lds to the fund . P rem ium s fo r the flood risk w ill be ca lcu la ted based on counc il tax band ing .

– F lood R e w ou ld charge m em ber firm s an annua l fee o f £180m illion .Th is equates to a levy o f £10 .50 on annua l househo ld p rem ium s and represents the estim ated leve l o f c ross-subsidy tha t a lready ex is ts be tw een low er and h igher flood risk p rem ium s.

Flood Insurance and Resilience

– O ften househo lders, loca l au thorities o r G overnm ent take s teps to im prove the res ilience o f p roperties , th rough construction w ork o r the ins ta lla tion o f p roperty leve l p ro tection (P LP ).

– The insurance industry is cu rren tly no t ab le to take in to account th is investm ent as they have no da ta to re fe r to in o rder to assess the reduced risk .

– A necdota l ev idence suggests tha t som e househo lders w ho have p rev ious ly been flooded, o r w ho a re a t risk o f flood ing have taken m easures to p ro tect the ir hom es and ye t s till cannot insure the ir hom es a ffo rdab ly .

Property Flood Resilience Database

– P ro ject partners B R E , A X A Insurance and Lex is -N exis a re curren tly undertak ing research tha t addresses th is d ifficu lty in access ing in fo rm ation on im provem ents to bu ild ings w h ich have been taken to m anage flood risk .

– The P roperty F lood R es ilience D atabase (P FR -d) p ro jec t is funded by Innova te U K and w ill resu lt in the m eans to in fo rm insurers o f p roperty leve l res ilience m easures.

– The p ro jec t has deve loped a da tabase w here flood res ilience m easures undertaken by househo lders, loca l au thorities o r G overnm ent can be logged.

– A fram ew ork fo r the da tabase to be linked to insurers o ther da tase ts (e .g . flood risk) has been crea ted .

Property Flood Resilience Database

The D atabase has been deve loped th rough:

– A n in itia l rev iew o f the types o f da ta tha t a re curren tly co llec ted in bu ild ing leve l flood risk assessm ents and surveys

– D eve lopm ent o f a ‘m atrix ’ o f in fo rm ation w e fee l is necessary across resistance, resilience and community fac to rs

– E ach fac to r has a series o f sub-facto rs , w h ich a re ranked depend ing on the au tom ation , m ateria ls used , certifica tion and tes ting p rocedures.

– S ite surveys – to con firm the necessary fac to rs fo r the m atrix and estab lish a s tandard ised p rocedure fo r su rveyors to fo llow .

BRE Centre for Resilience

BRE Centre for Resilience U sing know ledge and research the cen tre w ill de liver im provem ents fo r the res ilience capac ity o f the bu ilt env ironm ent. w w w.bre .co .uk

BRE Centre For Resilience

What we do: – C onduct research in to new m itiga tion and adaption m ethods – C rea te new s tandards fo r des ign , p lann ing and products – Test, tria l, dem onstra te and certify a new tranche o f innova tions – D eve lop new tra in ing p rogram m es fo r the secto r – C om m unica te and d issem ina te know ledge

Aims & objectives – P lug the know ledge gaps on bu ilt env ironm ent res ilience – U se the da ta genera ted to c rea te a new genera tion o f bu ilt env ironm ent re la ted

s tandards, p roducts and too ls tha t p rom ote res ilience – B u ild a be tte r w orld in partnersh ip w ith change m aking o rgan isa tions – D eve lop U K secto r know ledge and innova tion on ach iev ing res ilience tha t can be

exported a round the w orld

Resilient Built Environment Research Programme – Flood resilient homes – repair standards. A pro jec t to deve lop

appropria te s tandards fo r flood res ilien t repa irs , and techn ica l gu idance to he lp con tractors de live r cost-e ffective m easures.

– Wind loading on buildings. M ore than 90% o f bu ild ing w ind dam age occurs a t w ind speeds be low the bas ic des ign w ind p ressure – th is p ro jec t w ill address th is serious perfo rm ance gap .

– Tackling overheating in urban dwellings. Th is p ro jec t w ill p rov ide v ita l gu idance and in fo rm ation based on hard sc ien tific da ta , inc lud ing a de ta iled rev iew o f the po ten tia l risk o f fla ts to overhea t.

– Resilience to natural disasters. B u ilds on the successfu l B R E T rust and IFR C (In te rna tiona l Federa tion o f R ed C ross and R ed C rescent S oc ie ties) funded w ork to deve lop the Q S A N D Too l fo r post d isaste r reconstruction /redeve lopm ent p ro jec ts .

– Community resilience. Th is w ill be a p recursor to a w ider p ro jec t w h ich a im s to deve lop a too l fo r assess ing and m anag ing res ilience a t com m unity leve l.

White Paper

– D eta ils the exten t o f flood risk in the U K

– F lood res ilience and insurance

– F lood res ilien t p lann ing and construction

– C om m unity flood res ilience

– 6 conc lus ions and recom m endations

Thank you for listening

K aty H unte r B R E S co tland

hun te rk@ bre .co .uk +44 (0 ) 1355 576 200