Update To Ground-Breaking 5 Metre Groundwater Flood Risk Map

GeoSmart Information Ltd, the innovative environmental data company, has launched an update to its GW5 Groundwater Flood Risk Map, offering users more accurate data than ever before.

The update delivers the most sophisticated and accurate map currently available in the UK, using, a five metre dataset to provide detailed groundwater flood risk information for individual properties. It also includes the latest information from the British Geological Survey (BGS) which supports the risk mapping algorithm. This is key to the understanding of groundwater flow within the underlying soils and rocks.

In addition, GeoSmart has refined the groundwater level estimates within Chalk aquifers and validated these against an expanded national database of historical flooding incidents. Chalk aquifers represent one of the highest groundwater flood risks in the UK, so this has been a key priority to better identify areas at significant threat.

However, the new data also includes flooding from permeable superficial deposits which many alternative models ignore. These can create significant problems in river valleys and coastal areas. As well as a 5m property-level digital terrain model (DTM) for England, Wales and Scotland, Version 2.2 includes enhanced LIDAR data.

The most sensitive flood prone areas in England and Wales are displayed with a published accuracy of +/-15cm and reveal the complex relationship between terrain and groundwater “ponding” in specific locations.

“Our GW5 Groundwater Flood Risk Map was used to screen more than 400,000 property transactions in the last year, “says Paul Ellis, Managing Director of GeoSmart Information. “Version 2.2 delivers address level insight with significant implications for insurance premium calculations, resilience planning and conveyancing due diligence.

We have been working with a broad range of insurers in recent months, who are responding to the growing awareness of the importance of groundwater flood risk”

“For many though, it still remains the hidden face of flood risk. With climate change continuing to impact weather patterns, the result is a greater need for more comprehensive information about ground conditions, groundwater and flood risk. Our data now maps groundwater flood risk on a consistent national scale, where previously this risk had been neglected.”

GW5 data is already providing groundwater forecasting services within the asset management, infrastructure and insurance sectors. GeoSmart is working with several national organisations, including The Flood Forecasting Centre and Thames Water to bring wider awareness of the risks and ensure a more timely response when events occur.

“This update reflects our ongoing investment in delivering the best groundwater data with unequalled accuracy to provide better information for property professionals and enable improved resilience planning and climate change modeling” concluded Paul.