WATER MANAGEMENT ALLIANCE
The Water Management Alliance is a group of like-minded Internal Drainage Boards (IDBs) operating in the Anglian Region of the United Kingdom who share vision, values and standards, and have chosen to jointly administer their affairs in order to reduce costs, strengthen their own organisations and increase influence at both a national and regional level.
WMA members include Broads IDB, East Suffolk IDB, King’s Lynn IDB, Norfolk Rivers IDB and South Holland IDB. We also provide support services to the Pevensey and Cuckmere Water Level Management Board.
Our members are autonomous and democratically accountable statutory bodies that seek to protect some 548,000 hectares of East Anglia. We have over 900 years of experience protecting and defending our wonderful parts of England.
INTERNAL DRAINAGE BOARDS
IDBs are local public authorities that manage flood risk and land drainage within areas of special drainage need in England. Each IDB has permissive powers to undertake water management activities within their Internal Drainage District. The purpose of delivering this work is to reduce flood risk to people and property and to manage water in a way that meets the local needs of business and agriculture, including during times of drought, whilst also dealing with its obligations and commitments to the environment.
IDBs exercise a general power of supervision over all matters relating to water level management within their district. This is undertaken through the use of permissive powers that enable IDBs to regulate works on, or affecting, the watercourses within their area. Advice is also provided by IDBs through the planning system to ensure that planning applications for new development within their districts are supported by appropriate drainage strategies. IDBs conduct their work in accordance with a number of general environmental duties and promote the ecological wellbeing of their districts.
In determining planning applications in accordance with national policy, local policies and relevant guidance, LPAs take into account advice from a number of different sources. These sources include from statutory consultees (such as Lead Local Flood Authorities (“LLFAs”) and the Environment Agency (“EA”)) as well as from other Risk Management Authorities (“RMAs”) such as Internal Drainage Boards (“IDBs”), Anglian Water or the Canals and Rivers Trust. The scope of IDB comments on planning applications relates primarily to each Boards role as a RMA as defined by Section 6 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010.
For more information please visit www.wlma.org.uk.
