UK Act of Parliament 2010 United Kingdom

Flood and Water Management Act 2010

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At a glance

Enforced by

Environment Agency, Ofwat, OEP, NRW

What's here

9 compliance obligations, 10 practical guides across 3 topics · 7 journeys · 17 statutory instruments

Penalty landscape

2 of 9 obligations carry an unlimited fine. 1 carries different penalties and 6 have no criminal penalty — flagged in the list below.

Who this Act binds

Business-side actors with duties under this Act, ranked by how often they appear.

  • Any Person 3

Plus 6 non-business duties on Crown ministers, regulators, local authorities or tribunals — shown collapsed under each section below.

Step-by-step journeys using this legislation

Walkthroughs that take you from a real business situation to compliance.

Relevant guidance

Practical guides for businesses affected by this Act, ordered by how closely they engage with it.

Direct — cites this Act

5 guides

Supporting — topic alignment

1 guides

Mentioned in related content

4 guides

Other Acts binding the same actors

For each actor bound by this Act, the other UK Acts that bind them most often. Useful for understanding the full compliance landscape facing each role.

Any Person also bound by 749 other Acts (top 5 shown)

What this Act requires

Sections that create concrete duties on businesses or carry penalties. Procedural and definitional sections are folded into the “Browse other sections” expander at the bottom of each group. Click any section title to read the source text on legislation.gov.uk.

Part 1 — Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management

s.019

Local authorities: investigations

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Lead local flood authorities must investigate and report on flood incidents Local authority
s.023

Consultation and consent

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Environment Agency must obtain Committee consent for regional flood programs Statutory regulator
Browse 29 other sections in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement
s.026

“The appropriate agency”

s.026

Establishment and functions

s.026

Constitution

s.026

Payments relating to members

Part 2 — Miscellaneous

Browse 14 other sections in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement

Part 3 — General

Browse 3 other sections in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement

Schedules

s.004

Reservoirs

Unlimited fine
  • Fail to register a large raised reservoir Any Person
Browse 3 other Schedules — structural / supplementary
Read the full Act on legislation.gov.uk (opens in a new tab)

Official guidance

Authoritative sources published by regulators or government explaining this legislation.

Enforcement and responsible bodies

The regulators that administer or enforce this legislation.

Environment Agency

Primary

Environmental protection in England. Regulates waste, emissions, water quality, flood risk, and environmental permits for industrial activities. Enforces environmental law and issues …

Ofwat

Water Services Regulation Authority

Economic regulator for the water and sewerage sectors in England and Wales. Sets price limits, monitors service quality, and enforces environmental duties. …

OEP

Office for Environmental Protection

Independent body established post-Brexit to scrutinise environmental law and investigate complaints about public authorities' failures to comply with environmental law in England …

NRW

Natural Resources Wales

Principal environmental regulator for Wales. Combines functions of Environment Agency Wales, Countryside Council for Wales, and Forestry Commission Wales. Issues environmental permits, …

Connected legislation

17 statutory instruments

These instruments amend, apply, or refer to this Act. They may not all create direct business obligations.

Secondary legislation (17)

+ 2 more statutory instruments

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Browse legislation

Find other UK business legislation with related guidance.

Regulators

Learn more about the bodies that enforce this legislation.