The hell of high water

With the UK now seemingly developing a 'flood season', Peter Mooney explains why businesses should take the risk of flooding very seriously

Flooding is on the increase, bringing with it some devastating effects. Immediately a firm could be faced with a loss of stock and an inability to fulfil its customers’ orders. Compounded with this could be damage to machinery and computer equipment, with the longer term problems of replacing stock and continuing to trade. The property itself could take several months to restore to its former functionality after a major clean-up and repairs have been completed. 

Damage to a firm can extend way beyond this time. The immediate downturn in business from the initial flooding could become permanent as customers change their purchasing habits and attach loyalty to another supplier. With the downturn in business, firms may also be forced to lay off valued staff. 

Such overwhelming problems are hard to imagine but over the past decade damage from flooding has significantly increased. The floods of 2007 alone cost the insurance industry some £3bn, which included claims from 35,000 businesses (in addition to 135,000 householders and 20,000 damaged vehicles). As insurance companies become more aware of the risks, businesses in high risk areas may become uninsurable. The knock-on effect to a landlord is obvious. If the property becomes uninsurable and the risks make the premises undesirable, then a landlord’s asset is likely to be considerably devalued.

To prevent climate change is seemingly impossible, but to adapt to it is becoming increasingly important. Fortunately, there are now measures that a business or landlord can take, which, once in place, will not only protect their property and business from the ravages of a flood, but will also enable insurance even where insurance has been refused before.

Firstly, the likelihood of flooding should be considered. There are over 5.7m properties in the UK that are at risk of flooding. The four principal risks are: (i) locations near to a river or the sea; (ii) buildings on a flood plain; (iii) areas subject to surface water flooding; and (iv) floods caused by backflow, where drains that are unable to cope with a volume of flood water, force waste and drain water to gush back into the building, via toilets and plugholes. Backflow can also be caused by a blocked waste pipe, typically from inappropriate materials thrown down the toilet in the same or a neighbouring property.

Having established the level of risk it is important to take a holistic approach to the flood protection of a building.
Any opportunity for flood water to enter a building should be removed from below the ground up to first floor level.

As a first step, a full survey should be undertaken. The surveyor should check the brickwork for any perforations caused by wiring and pipe work. These will need to be filled and the brickwork sprayed with a sealant that will stop it being porous. All apertures, including doors, windows and airbricks will need to be measured by the surveyor so that flood barriers can be made to measure and closely fitted to these particularly vulnerable parts of the property. There is now pneumatic technology available that will ensure that the barrier has a completely water tight seal, regardless of whether the substrate is brick, stone, render or pebbledash.

Moving to below ground, all waste pipes should be fitted with non-return valves to eliminate the risk of backflow with all its foul detritus. There are new non-return valves available that can be fitted in minutes into existing pipes removing the traditional need to carry out a considerable amount of pipe work. Because of this, the new type of non-return valve is a fraction of cost of the traditional one.

A fully flood protected property, should enable insurance at a reasonable cost and without an excessively high excess, provided that it has been carried out in the right way. It is, however, advisable to check this out prior to having the work done to ensure that the work will meet with the insurance company’s acceptance. Most importantly though, a fully flood-protected property will give peace of mind, knowing that the business and property are covered.