ForeCoast® technology is used to develop Orkney flood forecasting system

JBA Consulting is very pleased to have recently been commissioned by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) to develop a real-time flood forecasting system for coastal communities and key infrastructure in the Orkney islands.

The system will be used to identify how the tides, local surge conditions and offshore waves may combine and result in flooding to 18 locations across the islands. The flood risk at the locations in question will be determined using: a sophisticated joint probability analysis of key drivers; analysis of local tidal harmonics; wave transformation modelling; and wave overtopping calculations.

Prior to its release, the performance of the system will be assessed using our award winning coastal flood risk management system, ForeCoast® Flood. The ForeCoast® Flood system provides a means to develop, validate and refine the performance of forecasting systems, before putting them into operation, significantly improving accuracy and confidence in the approach.

Since its implementation, the ForeCoast® Flood system has been applied to develop coastal flood forecasting for large stretches of the UK’s coastline. Clients include the Environment Agency, Network Rail, and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency.

Mark Lawless, JBA Director commented: “This new SEPA study will build on our existing work with EMEC, allowing for a fruitful cross-fertilisation of data, tools and risk management techniques. This collaborative working is a powerful demonstration of how two different sectors can work together towards a common goal to benefit the local communities of Orkney.”

Bruce Campbell, from SEPA’s Flood Forecasting and Warning Team, said: “In our Flood Warning Development Framework we committed to improving coastal flood forecasting for Orkney. Us working together will be key to delivering that and helping SEPA extend its emergency responder information and public Floodline services for the Orkney Islands.”

ForeCoast® Marine

In recent years, we have expanded into the growing offshore marine energy sector through development of a marine version of ForeCoast® Flood, called ForeCoast® Marine. ForeCoast® Marine is a sophisticated metocean planning and forecasting tool which lets marine operators manage their metocean risks throughout a marine or coastal construction project. Marine clients include Rampion Offshore Wind Farm, Scottish Power Renewables, European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) and a variety of large scale marine construction projects.

Want to know more?

For more information on ForeCoast® Flood and the Orkney islands coastal flood forecasting system, please contact Mark Lawless. You can also contact Richard Lines or visit the ForeCoast® Marine website for more information on managing metocean risks.

To find out more about SEPA’s Flooding duties and services visit their website or contact their media team.