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Equity, diversity and inclusion are core to our vision - a world where infrastructure creates opportunity for everyone.

A look at life inside AECOM
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About AECOM

At AECOM, we believe infrastructure creates opportunity for everyone.

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Innovation & Digital

Our technical experts and visionaries harness the power of technology to deliver transformative outcomes.

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About AECOM

At AECOM, we believe infrastructure creates opportunity for everyone.

image
Innovation & Digital

Our technical experts and visionaries harness the power of technology to deliver transformative outcomes.

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York Flood Management Plan

York, UK

The York Flood Management Plan identifies short, medium and long-term holistic solutions for the management of flooding in York, and informs the Environment Agency’s five-year and long term (100-year) plans. It looks beyond traditional engineered solutions to a wide-ranging whole catchment strategy to protect the city from future extreme weather events linked to climate change. The 2015 Boxing Day flood was the worst to hit the city since 1982, causing wide-scale disruption to multiple communities. It affected over 600 homes along the River Ouse and River Foss, highlighting the need for the authorities responsible for managing flood risk to work together to minimise the threat to local communities.

We worked with the Environment Agency, City of York Council and other stakeholders to identify what short term changes could be made to York’s existing flood defences and what new defences could be built to increase protection for at least 2,000 homes. We undertook a series of 23 initial assessments, identifying over 70 potential engineering options that could provide a consistent standard of protection across the city. The York five-year flood plan, published in 2016, outlines these potential options.

While hard defences are appropriate in certain locations, they are not for some parts of York — where wider catchmentbased solutions such as upstream storage and natural flood management are more suitable. These solutions can also boost future climate change resilience for residents, and our approach is enabling the Environment Agency, its partners and stakeholders to work together to shape the way that floods are managed into the future through the long-term plan.