Monitoring and the Humber Estuary SEA

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Monitoring and the Humber Estuary SEA

• EPA/ERC SEA Indicators Workshop 4
• Monitoring in SEA use of environmental
  indicators
• 2-3 October 2007
• Herbert Park Hotel, Dublin, Ireland

Richard Ashby-CraneHalcrow Group
Ltdashbycranerw_at_halcrow.comTel 00 44 1794
816473
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Introduction

• Background
• the study area
• the need
• the plan
• Development of Monitoring Plan
• SEA Monitoring Plan
• Monitoring managed realignment
• Tiering and SEA monitoring
• Concluding thoughts

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Background the study area

• Catchment 1/5 of England
• 300,000 people living in the floodplain
• SPA, pSAC and Ramsar Site designations
• Ports, navigation industry

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Background the need

• Condition of defences
• Erosion and foreshore lowering
• Low defences
• Sea level rise and increased storminess
• Habitats Directive coastal squeeze
• Piecemeal refurbishment led to difficulties with
  approvals
• Loss of consultee confidence

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Background the plan

• Hold the Line over most of the estuary (where
  justifiable) whilst minimising the impact on the
  SPA/SAC
• a series of managed realignment schemes to meet
  the needs of compensatory habitat creation
  replacement of coastal squeeze losses
• Flood storage controlled overtopping
  
• in key locations
• Do Nothing no expenditure justified
• Ensuring
• the long term integrity of the SPA/SAC
• continued protection of 300,000 people living in
  the flood plain

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Development of the SEA monitoring plan

• The SEA monitoring plan was developed to reflect
• Indicators developed for each environmental
  objective
• The significant environmental effects predicted
  (direct, indirect)
• The uncertainty associated with the predictions
• Existing datasets (historic trends)
• New datasets (cost)
• BUT the Flood Risk Management Strategy/Plan
  itself also needed a
• Maintenance, Inspection Monitoring Plan
• the condition of the flood defences
• sea level rise
• Review numbers of people protected and economic
  case

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SEA monitoring plan (extract 1)
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SEA monitoring plan (extract 2)
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SEA monitoring plan (extract 3)

• Managing Uncertainty

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Monitoring managed realignment

• Part covered by strategic monitoring across
  estuary
• Bathymetry
• Topography (LiDAR)
• Habitats CASI aerial photography
• Project specific monitoring
• Salt marsh vegetation (annual transects)
• Benthic invertebrates (annual on same transects)
• Accretion erosion (annual using sediment
  plates)
• Birds (monthly)
• Also volunteer (non essential) monitoring

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Tiering and SEA monitoring
Legislative, Planning and technical developments
tiering
CHaMP balance sheet NE site condition
appraisal
SEA monitoring
Condition, economic, protection for Strategy
review
Managed realignment monitoring other scheme
specific needs
monitoring review
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Concluding thoughts

• What are we monitoring?
• Is the FRM Strategy delivering on its aims
• Reducing flood risk Meeting habitat replacement
  (CHaMP)
• Datasets - National /regional existing
• cheap to use provide historic trends
• but often indirectly related to impact
• Strategic versus Project monitoring
• Project bottom up feedback (direct effects)
• Dont monitor the unnecessary
• measure what you value
• Review and adaptation
• Flexibility, use the results to make a
  difference
• Monitor the context
• New legislation, plans and technology

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THE END

• Richard Ashby-Crane
• Halcrow Group Ltd
• ashbycranerw_at_halcrow.com
• Tel [phone]

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Spare explanatory slides
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Setting objectives indicators

• SMP some 25 objectives were set for policy
  development
• Inherited by the SEA
• Used in the appraisal of local options for each
  of 25 flood cells
• BUT reduced to 7 Objectives 12 sub-objectives
  and indicators for strategic assessment
• many not really strategic
• many only relevant to do-nothing option
  (largely unacceptable)
• If too many weighting or importance becomes a
  big issue
• aspirational v appraisal objectives

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Coastal Squeeze
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Managed realignment at Paull Holme Strays

• Where land use allows
• Remove or breach existing flood defence
• Tidal inundation
• creates new habitat replacing ongoing losses
• Reduces squeeze effect
• Reduces length of defence needing maintenance
• May reduce water levels (providing flood
  management benefits)

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Wider lessons learned challenges

• SEA has
• Clearly demonstrated local and cumulative
  impacts over the 50/100 year life of the
  Strategy
• Restored stakeholder confidence
• Provided a clear framework for the development,
  promotion approval of individual projects
• Justified a programme of monitoring and review
• And identified a need to
• manage uncertainty
• manage awareness, stress expectation (local
  communities)
• investigate human rights issues legitimate
  expectation
• Place social issues higher up the agenda
• Develop better participation programmes -
  difficulty in involving the public in strategic /
  high level planning
• my backyard
• logistics (big areas and large numbers)