Lead Local Flood Authority

The Flood and Water Management Act 2010 gives us the role of Lead Local Flood Authority (LLFA) for the county. We have a strategic overview role for local flooding and work closely with other organisations to manage local flood risk in East Sussex. Local flooding is defined as flooding from surface water, groundwater and ordinary watercourses (an ordinary watercourse is any river, stream or channel which is not identified on the Environment Agency Flood Map as a Main River). Flooding from Main Rivers, the sea and large reservoirs is managed by the Environment Agency.

What are we doing?

• We have produced a Preliminary Flood Risk Assessment to assess local flood risk across the county, as required by the Flood Risk Regulations 2009
• We have published our Local Flood Risk Management Strategy which sets out how we plan to manage local flood risk, in accordance with the Flood and Water Management Act 2010
• We have completed a number of Surface Water Management Plans to identify specific areas at risk of local flooding and what actions could be taken to reduce the risk
• We are working with our partners to promote Sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) as part of new developments.

Who we are working with

• The Environment Agency
• District and Borough councils
• Internal Drainage Boards
• Southern Water
• The South Downs National Park Authority

See ‘Managing flood risks – who is responsible’ for more information on specific flood risk management responsibilities.

Contact us

If you have any questions about the role of the Lead Local Flood Authority in East Sussex, please contact the Flood Risk Management Team on: 01273 481421