Environmental Engineering Reference
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models. Secondly, there is a group of non-science
professionals whose work mainly involves deliv-
ering flood risk management options for society.
From the perspective of the movement of scien-
tific knowledge, these could be argued to have a
translatory role (Faulkner et al. 2007). We refer to
this group, which includes insurance agents, plan-
ners, managers within the utilities, as well as the
professionals in the EA, as 'flood risk profes-
sionals'. Thirdly, we include the 'public', the re-
ceptors of flood risk information. The term
'public' is not confined to occupants of known
flood risk areas, but also covers other non-profes-
sional stakeholders such as community groups
and flood action groups. In fact there is no longer
just one 'public' but many different audiences.
These include all those with an interest in flood
risk management and communication who are
in an unconfusing manner to both the public and
each other. Consequently we have chosen to
broaden the concept of flood risk communication
here, to include the information flow between all
involved. We identify three categories or groups
for whom communication challenges differ (the
three categories can be seen as the shaded boxes
in Fig. 19.2).
Firstly, those at the source of information about
flood science, whom we refer to here as
'scientists', being those whose work involves de-
veloping the science base and newknowledge that
underpins flood risk management. This group in-
cludes meteorologists, hydrologists, flood model-
lers, and weather and flood forecasters working at
the UK's Met Office or within the Environment
Agency (EA) itself, as well as economic modellers,
and hydraulic engineers developing asset failure
Fig. 19.2
Patternof informationflowinflood riskmanagement in theUK. The variousflood riskprofessionals involved
are suggested to have an uncomfortable intermediary translatory function between the scientists at the source of flood
risk science and the lay audience to whom they are formally or informally obliged to communicate about flood risk.
