Pipe up: Steve Jacobs

“Utility companies have expertise, communication channels and direct sales to virtually every UK property.”

For three months the UK has endured significant floods. The consensus is that this is not a one-off but part of a trend that may worsen over time. Lessons from previous floods, and new technologies that have yet to be applied fully, make now the right time for utility companies to offer new services to help fight floods and their devastating consequences.
This is an extract from the executive summary of the Pitt Review, which was conducted after the 2007 floods: “‘Strategic sandbagging’ can be successfully used alongside roads or adjacent to important buildings to prevent them from flooding, but the work needs to be done properly by experts. The review was unable to obtain any significant evidence that sandbags were particularly effective during the 2007 summer floods in providing protection to individual households.”
From the same report: “Nevertheless, sandbags are still widely regarded as an important focus for community action and they should not simply be withdrawn. The general provision of sandbags should be phased out in favour of better products such as kite-marked flood boards, air brick covers and other forms of temporary defence.”
Last month, the prime minister told MPs there were more “abnormal” weather events occurring and he “suspected” they were linked to climate change. (So the floods are not their fault but are likely to get worse as global warming continues). And this month TV programme Dispatches highlighted what some people have to put up with when failures in the sewage system occur, often exacerbated by flood.
So we all know how bad the problem is and that it will likely get worse. The government has launched Flood Re, its state-backed insurance mutual, but it will exclude five million properties. Anyone having to insure one of these properties will face big insurance hikes.
Utility companies have expertise, communication channels and direct sales to virtually every property in the UK. Why leave the provision of temporary flood measures to a government that gives away sandbags free on behalf of the taxpayer when the Pitt report informed us in 2007 they were of little help to homes?
Can you imagine the public and political support you could secure with any new initiative you take now to help reduce flood risk and make good properties affected by flood? Utility companies can even collaborate with small and medium-sized enterprises in offering solutions and giving advice on how to prepare for floods.