Surface Water Drainage and Sewer Overflows
Sewage overflows are a problem in Scotland , as they are in the rest of Britain , but again Scotland seems to be doing more to tackle the issue. Scotland did not privatise its water industry, so instead of a number of private water comp ani es dealing with the problems in England and Wales , in Scotland there is a single water authority (Scottish Water).

In some ways, sewage overflow could be seen as the biggest flood problem in Scotland , simply because floodplain floods (as defined by the indicative floodplain maps supplied by CEH) have been relatively rare in recent years. Indeed, since the Elgin/Moray floods in 1997, all the major flooding events in Scotland have been predominantly drainage related. For example, as mentioned previously, the Boxing Day storm in 1999, where only 40 out of 240 claims were within the CEH floodplain, or the April 2000 floods in Edinburgh , where, according to an unpublished report for the ABI by the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, less than 600 out of nearly 2,400 claims were in the CEH floodplain. (However, this figure is almost certainly inaccurate due to errors in the insurance claims datasets supplied to CEH. It is firmly denied by the City of Edinburgh Council 's hydrologist who has carried out a detailed survey of flooded areas in Edinburgh .)

Research in Scotland has suggested that the number of sewer surcharge events could increase dramatically due to climate change - as much as 20% in Edinburgh by 2080, (45% in Fort William ). Similar research has only just started in England , but in the meantime, Scottish Water has already committed an additional £270m over the next four years to upgrade sewers in Scotland.

Scottish Water is very active in Flood Liaison and Advice Groups in Scotland , which gives them the opportunity to work closely on flooding issues at a local level with the planning community and SEPA. (It also gives the author opportunities to safeguard insurance industry interests.)

Scottish Water are well aware of the problems they face. The Asset Management Director of Scottish Water said recently:

"Scottish Water is acutely aware that it has inherited sewers - some dating back to Victorian times - which for years have had little or no investment. These are now in critical need of upgrading and replacement.

"However, it has to be stressed that the flooding which hit parts of Glasgow in July was due to an exceptional rainfall event which no sewerage system is designed to cope with. The entire month of July's rainfall fell in just 10 hours and the storm was assessed as a one in a 100-year event.

"But as the climate changes, flooding events of this severity can be expected. It must be recognised that although Scottish Water cannot prevent flooding single-handedly, by working more closely with local councils, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and other key organisations we can, together, look at addressing flooding problems both in the short and longer term."

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