UKC PROFILE
Association of Drainage Authorities
Water level management The Association of Drainage Authorities (ADA) is the membership organisation for water level management authorities in the United Kingdom. Members include: 121 IDBs, the Environment Agency, 13 Regional Flood & Coastal Committees (RFCCs), the Northern Ireland Rivers Agency, local authorities and suppliers, contractors and consultancies of the water level management industry. ADA is recognised as the national representative of Internal Drainage Boards (IDBs) in England and Wales. Each Internal Drainage Board is a local public authority established in areas of special drainage need in England and Wales. They have permissive powers to manage water levels within their respective drainage districts. IDBs undertake works to reduce flood risk to people and property and manage water levels to meet local needs. Today, there are 121 IDBs in Great Britain, 120 in England and three in Wales (2 IDBs cross the border). IDBs cover 1.2M hectares of England (9.7% of the total land area of the country). They play a key role in reducing flood risk to over 600,000 residents and nearly 900,000 properties (commercial and residential). They operate and maintain over 500 pumping stations, 22,000km of watercourse,
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175 automatic weed screen cleaners and numerous sluices and weirs. Established in 1937, ADA was created to watch over and support the interests of drainage authorities at a national and parliamentary level, providing a forum for the exchange of ideas and discussions, and to disseminate information of common interest. Today, ADA is recognised as the authoritative voice of the water level and flood risk management industry, providing definitive technical information, plus news and guidance from across the sector. From its office in Surbiton, Surrey, ADA is run by a diverse team of highly educated and qualified professionals, working closely with ten branches across England and Wales and involving many key experts of water level and flood risk management. With such a high level of responsibility for its members and the industry as a whole, ADA provides the following services: ••Response to government legislation and consultations – for example, responding to the consultation on and the implementation of the Flood and Water Management Act. ••Gathering and presenting industry reports – for example, on how to form a new IDB, risk management plans, and the importance of water level management
to UK communities, infrastructure, farming and other businesses. ••Providing technical support – for example, giving specific guidance as to how members should carry out certain tasks. ••Organising conferences, workshops and demonstrations – ADA holds an annual conference, local authority seminar and a working demonstration for water level management equipment and plant hire, and many other workshops, such as for climate change risk adaptation, and the eel regulations workshop. ••Links with European water level managers. ADA is a founding member of the European Union of Water Management Associations (EUWMA), established in 1996. At present, organisations from Belgium, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom are members of the EUWMA. Each year, EUWMA members meet to discuss European legislation, regional and local water management issues within the member states. For more information, please visit www.ada.org.uk or contact ADA on 020 8399 7350.