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12.3.     WFD and flood risk management

In general, measures for managing flood risk and mitigating hydro-morphological pressures that work with nature rather than against it should be promoted, such as making more room for rivers.

Sustainable flood risk management is a shift away from our predominantly hard-engineering flood defences to a river basin approach, which uses natural processes and natural systems to slow and store water in addition to measures such as flood warning, spatial planning and emergency response. Natural floodplains are allowed to flood and wetlands to act as giant sponges to soak up excess water then release it slowly back into the river.

This is generally a cost-effective way of achieving many objectives, including the good status objective of the WFD and national water policies. For many European rivers, restoring former floodplains and wetlands would both reduce flood risk and improve the ecological and quantitative status of freshwater. Opportunities to enhance the natural environment and improve its capacity to perform ecosystem services should be identified.

There are many national activities in Europe aimed at more sustainable flood management and restoring rivers. Examples include the Dutch Room for the River (Ruimtevoorderivier, 2010), the UK programme for making space for the river (DEFRA, 2008), the Swiss guiding principles for sustainable water management (BAFU, 2010; the SOER 2010 country assessment on Switzerland (EEA, 2010g)), the Austrian Stream Care Scheme (Lebensministerium, 2010) and the Spanish National Strategy for Restoring Rivers (MARM, 2010).