The Role of a Flood Risk Consultant in Planning and Design

By Simon Crowther BEng (Hons) FCIWEM C.WEM MIET, Director at FPS Environmental Ltd.  25^th February 2026

The moment the role was reduced to “report writer”

I recently heard a supposed flood risk advisory firm refer to their flood risk consultants as “the report writers” and the phrase stayed with me. It neatly summed up a problem that still exists in parts of the industry. It reflects the same bygone era where a Flood Risk Assessment is treated as a document that can be ordered at the end of a project as part of a bronze, silver or gold package to rubber stamp a development.

I have written previously in Flood Industry Magazine about how a Flood Risk Assessment is not there to be a rubber stamp, in an article titled The paradox of a “compliant” Flood Risk Assessment, which explores this in more detail. It is, as the name suggests, an assessment. That means it may influence the design. It may require changes. It may challenge assumptions. That is not a problem. That is the role.

Reducing the flood risk consultant to a report writer diminishes the profession and misunderstands the value that good consultancy brings to a project.

In my recent article on what makes a good Flood Risk Assessment, I wrote about the importance of moving away from the tick-box report. In reality, the quality of any assessment is a direct reflection of the consultant preparing it.

We have previously written about what a flood risk consultant is and the typical route into the profession. This article looks in more detail at the role in practice and how it influences the design and delivery of development.

The role starts with understanding the site, policy and data

A flood risk consultant’s work begins long before a report is produced.

It is about understanding which planning policy and guidance applies to a site and how national planning policy interacts with local authority requirements and Environment Agency expectations. That sounds straightforward until you are dealing with a site affected by multiple sources of flooding, overlapping designations or evolving local policy, and restricted by the constraints of the site, or building.

It also requires the ability to read and interpret technical drawings properly. Levels, site areas, existing ground profiles and proposed finished floor levels all tell a story about how water will interact with the site, and the development.

Topography matters. Soil type matters. Existing drainage matters.

A flood risk consultant needs to know how to interrogate datasets, where to obtain the right information and how to translate that into something meaningful for a development.

In practical terms that often means working in GIS, preparing site-specific mapping and moving beyond national scale datasets to understand what is actually happening on the ground.

Most importantly, this process is bespoke. Some sites are straightforward. Others are anything but.

Development ambition and the reality of flood risk

The real role of the flood risk consultant sits in the space between what a client wants to achieve and what the site can safely accommodate.

That is not about being obstructive. It is about achieving the best possible outcome within the constraints of policy, topography and flood behaviour.

Sometimes that means challenging a layout, a floor level or a drainage proposal. For that to work properly the client also needs to be receptive to professional advice. The best projects are collaborative, where the consultant is part of the design conversation rather than being asked to justify a fixed proposal.

Safe development for the long term is the objective. That is very different from producing a document that satisfies a validation checklist.

The role of a senior flood risk consultant

As consultants become more experienced and their careers progress, the role naturally expands beyond the preparation of Flood Risk Assessments and into the wider civil and environmental design of a site. This is the point at which the difference between a junior report author and a senior flood risk consultant becomes clear.

A senior consultant is not just capable of identifying flood risk constraints. They are able to help shape or prepare the Surface Water Drainage Strategy and, in many cases, the external levels as well. With Surface Water Drainage Strategies now required for developments, it makes little sense to treat flood risk and drainage as separate exercises undertaken by different people in isolation. When the same consultant understands the flood mechanisms, the model data, the site levels and the discharge options, the result is usually a far more efficient and better performing scheme.

That might mean setting finished floor levels that work with the attenuation strategy rather than against it, identifying opportunities for above-ground SuDS that provide both drainage and placemaking benefits, or recognising early that an infiltration solution is or is not viable based on soil conditions and groundwater behaviour.

There is also an increasing overlap with wider environmental requirements such as Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG). A well-designed SuDS scheme can contribute to water quantity, water quality, amenity and biodiversity objectives at the same time, but only if those conversations happen early and the consultant is comfortable working as part of a multidisciplinary design team alongside ecologists, planners, architects and civil engineers.

In that sense, a senior flood risk consultant moves into a strategic role. They are no longer providing a standalone assessment. They are coordinating how flood risk, drainage, levels, external layout and environmental objectives interact across the site.

That shift is important, because it is where real value is created for a project and where the long-term performance of the development is determined.

Why fees vary so widely for Flood Risk Assessments

This is also why there is such a wide variation in fees across the market. A low-cost Flood Risk Assessment will generally reflect a tightly defined reporting scope. Strategic input into levels, drainage design, SuDS, environmental integration and long-term site performance is a different service entirely, and the two are not directly comparable.

The value of site visits

Many Flood Risk Assessments are undertaken as desktop studies, primarily for cost reasons. However, site visits can be invaluable.

Seeing the thresholds, the flow paths, the surrounding land use and the way a building is occupied gives a level of understanding that mapping alone cannot provide. It also allows a proper discussion with the client about their goals and how the property functions day to day, or how the developer wishes for the site to function.

That context often leads to better and more practical solutions.

Integrity is fundamental to the role

One aspect of the role that is rarely discussed openly is professional integrity.

Earlier in my career, before we moved to taking fees up front, I would visit properties with a clearly defined scope of work agreed in advance. On more than one occasion, once the assessment was underway, the payment was then positioned as being dependent on the report reaching a particular conclusion, usually for the purposes of a sale or insurance.

In other words, the expectation was not for an assessment, but for a predetermined outcome.

That is not consultancy. A flood risk consultant can only write what the evidence supports and provide a professional opinion based on that evidence. The scope can be agreed, the questions can be defined, but the conclusion must remain independent.

Maintaining that integrity, even when it is commercially uncomfortable, is a fundamental part of the role.

Career pathways and specialisation

The typical entry route into the profession is through a degree in engineering, geography, environmental science, natural hazards or a related discipline. That is only the starting point.

To be effective, a flood risk consultant needs to continue developing across areas that influence flood and drainage design. That usually includes a structured CPD pathway and progression towards chartership through a relevant professional body such as CIWEM or ICE.

As careers develop it is common for consultants to specialise. Some move into hydraulic modelling using software such as HEC-RAS. Others focus on drainage and infrastructure design and its interaction with flood risk.

That specialisation strengthens the profession, but the core requirement remains the same. A flood risk consultant must understand risk, interpret data, apply policy and provide independent professional advice.

If you are at an earlier stage in your career, we have covered the realities of a graduate’s first year in flood risk consultancy in a separate article, which you can read here: Starting a Career in Flood Risk: A Graduate’s First-Year Experience

A role that carries responsibility

Ultimately the role is about much more than producing a report.

It is about:

• Helping protect people and property
• Enabling safe and sustainable development
• Maintaining professional integrity
• Contributing to better long-term outcomes

It also carries a responsibility to remain informed. Policy evolves, guidance changes and the industry develops. Part of the role is continuous learning and, where possible, contributing back to the direction of travel through engagement with professional bodies and policy discussions.

That work is rarely paid, but it is essential for the progression of the discipline.

More than a report writer

Calling flood risk consultants “report writers” does not reflect the reality of the role.

A good flood risk consultant is an interpreter of data, an adviser to the design team, a challenger where necessary and a professional responsible for ensuring that development is safe for the long term.

The report is simply the record of that process.