Natural Flood Management Benefit Heat Maps at 1 km² Grid Scale

These heat maps identify locations with the highest economic flood reduction benefits from Natural Flood Management (NFM) measures. They are produced at a 1 km² grid scale to highlight opportunity areas, or 'hot spots', typically in non-developed green spaces with downstream flood risk. The data is based on the Environment Agency's national-scale methodology for estimating NFM benefits.

Use Cases

• Identify potential NFM project opportunities by analyzing the 1 km² grid-scale 'hot spot' locations for high flood benefit.
• Inform siting of NFM projects by cross-referencing heat map 'hot spots' with local land use and infrastructure data.
• Prioritize investment for flood resilience by evaluating areas highlighted for delivering both flood reduction and wider societal benefits.
• Assess flood risk from rivers and surface water using the national-scale methodology assumptions tested against previous modelling studies.

Strengths

• Maps are defined at a consistent 1 km² grid scale for spatial analysis.
• Methodology is based on assumptions tested against previous modelling studies for river and surface water flood risk.
• Produced to support the Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management (FCERM) investment programme.

Limitations

• Maps do not account for local features like roads, reservoirs, or flood risk assets which can influence flooding.
• Outputs cannot identify the specific watercourse or flow path responsible for flooding at a location.
• Maps do not recommend specific NFM measures or assess their local feasibility, requiring essential local knowledge.

Provenance

Source

Environment Agency

Collection Method

Based on a simplified national-scale methodology for estimating NFM benefits, using a 1 km² grid scale.

Freshness

Last updated on 2026-03-20.

Geography

National-scale coverage for England (implied).