DfI Rivers - an overview

Vision and aims

Vision

Our vision is to manage the flood risk to facilitate the social, economic and environmental development of Northern Ireland.

Aims

To support this vision Rivers Directorate aims to reduce risk to life, livelihoods, and the local environment as a result of flooding from rivers and the sea, in order to facilitate the social, economic, and environmental development of Northern Ireland.

Objectives

In support of these aims DfI Rivers' objectives are to:

• Implement sustainable flood risk management policies to facilitate development management and planning decisions. This assists in meeting society’s social, environmental and economic needs;
• reduce the number of properties currently at risk of flooding from rivers and the sea;
• maintain flood defence and drainage infrastructure in a satisfactory condition;
• maintain as necessary the designated watercourse network;
• provide flood maps and risk information;
• discharge our Lead Government Department responsibility of the co-ordination for the Emergency response to flooding incidents.
• support and motivate all our people to achieve DfI Rivers' objectives; and
• deliver quality services for our customers and stakeholders in a fair and equitable way.

Please inform us if you have any feedback or contact us if you require more information.

Statutory authority

The powers delegated to DfI Rivers by the Department for Infrastructure as the statutory Drainage and Flood Defence authority for Northern Ireland derive from the Drainage (NI) Order 1973 as amended.

Enabling legislation

1. The Drainage (Northern Ireland) Order 1973 - the legislative basis for carrying out watercourse maintenance work and flood defence schemes.
2. The Lough Neagh and Lower Bann Drainage and Navigation Act (Northern Ireland) 1955 - sets the statutory duty to regulate the levels of the Lough within prescribed limits as far as weather permits.
3. The Lough Neagh Drainage (Amendment) Act 1970 - extended the Department's obligation to take account of other interests with regard to Lough level management.
4. The Drainage (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006 - applies to all drainage and flood defence proposals and ensures an assessment of the environmental impact and public consultation on all drainage works and schemes.
5. The Drainage (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) Order 2005 - gives the Department two new powers namely:

• a power to make orders to dissolve drainage trusts
• a power to make regulations to charge for drainage infrastructure works to facilitate development

6. The Drainage Trusts (Dissolution) Order (Northern Ireland) 2006 - dissolves the drainage trusts listed in the schedule and extinguishes all rights, duties, obligations, and liabilities arising under the trusts. The Order also provides for the department to dispose of any property forming part of the trusts and to put the funds to the Consolidated Fund.

Other relevant legislation

The Water (Northern Ireland) Order 1999 - requires the Department to have regard for environmental factors when carrying out functions under Drainage Legislation.

DfI Rivers' Senior Management Team

Acting Director of Rivers Directorate Operations - Gary Quinn

Gary has responsibility for Operational Offices, Statutory Approvals, Flooding Emergency Planning and Response, LGD Expertise and Reservoirs Operations and  LWWP - Rivers Delivery.

Director of Rivers Directorate Development - Jonathan McKee

Jonathan has responsibility for Capital Works, Asset Management, Planning Consultations and Flood Mapping Modelling.

DfI Rivers Business Units

DfI Rivers is headed by a Director and is comprised of three Business Units:

• Operations
• Development
• Corporate Support Services

Operations

There are four business units within Operations:

• Eastern Region;
• Western Region; 
• Emergency Planning and Hydrometrics
• Reservoirs Operations and Engagement Branch, Inland Waterways

Regional Area Offices

Eastern Region maintains and protects the river drainage network across Armagh, Lisburn and Greater Belfast Areas. 

Western Region maintains and protects the river drainage network across Omagh, Fermanagh and Coleraine Areas.

The regional teams are responsible for the following key functions:

• inspection and maintenance of a network of free-flowing designated watercourses to provide adequate outlets for urban storm and land drainage;
• maintenance of the Department’s river and sea defences;
• identifying flood risks and undertaking minor works to repair and construct urban flood defences, culverts and provide drainage infrastructure;
• administering advisory, approval and enforcement procedures to protect the drainage function of all rivers;
• responding to complaints and enquiries;
• utilising available resources to maintain the effectiveness of the Department’s assets during periods of adverse weather;
• responding, where possible, to requests for assistance from the public whose property has suffered or is threatened by flooding.
• Flood preparedness and liaising with other statutory and public bodies to also provide an effective multi agency response to flooding;
• Emergency Planning & Chair of the Southern Severe Weather Working Group - Eastern Region;
• Emergency Planning & Chair of the Belfast Severe Weather Working Group - Eastern Region; and
• Emergency Planning & Chair of the Northern Severe Weather Working Group - Western Region.
• Act as Reservoir Manager for six controlled reservoirs – Eastern Region
• Management of Control Structures used to control the flow of rivers when required.
• Regulation of Water Levels on Lough Neagh and Lough Erne – Western Region

Emergency Planning Unit

Emergency Planning Unit (EPU) carry out the emergency planning co-ordination duties within Rivers Directorate. Key areas of responsibility include:

• discharging of Lead Government Department (LGD) responsibilities and supporting the multi-agency response to flooding and wider civil contingencies arrangements;
• administrating the implementation of the Homeowner Flood Protection Grant Scheme to protect residential properties;
• the development of new, and ongoing support to over 40 established Community Resilience groups;
• representing Rivers on the Emergency Preparedness Groups (EPGs) for civil contingencies in Northern Ireland to ensure that there is an appropriate level of preparedness to enable an effective multi-agency response to emergencies which have a significant impact on the local community; and

EPU also includes the Hydrometrics team who are responsible for:

• managing, maintaining and enhancing the Northern Ireland Surface Water Network currently consisting of over 135 river level monitoring stations (gauging stations);
• provision of watercourse flow and level information to ultimately inform the UK “National Archive” that underpins the national understanding and estimation of flood return periods and consequently Northern Ireland flood models, flood maps, and data that is used by Rivers Directorate to target capital investment and to help inform development control.
• providing near to real-time river level information to inform Rivers and other multi-agency partners’, in the preparation and response to flooding; and
• monitoring the coastal water level network to identify problematic storm surges which can raise sea levels and cause flooding.

Reservoirs Operations and Engagement Branch

There are three main business units within Reservoirs Operations and Engagement Branch and these include:

• Reservoirs Operations;
• Inland Waterways; and
• Control Structures.

The Reservoirs Operations team is responsible for:

• Managing the Department’s stock of six controlled reservoirs in accordance with the provisions of the Reservoirs Act (Northern Ireland) 2015, including commissioning reservoir inspections by specialist reservoir engineers and taking forward any necessary Measures in the Interest of Safety;
• Supporting the Reservoirs Authority with preparing for and overseeing the administration associated with the full commencement of the Reservoirs Act (Northern Ireland) 2015;

The Inland Waterways team is responsible for:

• The management of the remaining sections of the Lagan Canal that are owned by the Department following abandonment of navigation in the 1950s, including 24km of the Lagan Towpath from Stranmillis to Aghalee, and its associated footbridges, locks, canoe steps, weirs, three carparks at Lockview Road, Stranmillis; Drumbridge and Soldierstown, and the abandoned canal including the Broadwater Reservoir;
• Maintaining navigation at the entrance to the Sixmilewater River and to maintain two navigation posts and markers at the entrance to the Sixmilewater River, as a statutory duty under Article 6(3)(ii) of the Lough Neagh and Lower Bann Drainage and Navigation Act (Northern Ireland) 1955; and
• The maintenance of a further 46 navigation posts and markers on Lough Neagh using the Department’s discretionary powers under section 41 of The Water (Northern Ireland) Order 1999.

The Control Structures team is responsible for managing the inspection and maintenance programme of the 11 river control structures in the Department’s ownership.

Contact DfI Rivers

The appropriate DfI Rivers office can be contacted by telephone, in writing or by email under more contacts. If you have a complaint DfI Rivers has customer service standards in place which includes a complaints procedure.

DfI Rivers Headquarters

DfI Rivers HQ
49 Tullywiggan Road
Loughry
Cookstown
BT80 8SG

Telephone: 028 8676 8342
Email: rivers.registry@infrastructure-ni.gov.uk