Mary Dhonau: From victim to First Lady of Flooding in the UK

After being flooded herself many times Mary Dhonau soon realized there was very little help or advice available for those who were newly flooded about how they could recover and then plan, prepare for and protect themselves against being flooded. So she set about doing it herself! Over the years she became a national celebrity and she is of great importance for the awareness of flooding in the UK. More European member States need a pioneer like Mary Dhonau. The first lady of flooding is telling about her work on Water News Europe.

In the past following the ‘great Floods of 2000’, Mary Dhonau worked tirelessly to enable a new sewage pumping station to be built (costs nearly 1,8 million Euros) in her own neighbourhood. She started a consultancy agency called Mary Dhonau Associates. This community based consultancy works to raise local flood awareness by advising and assisting on flood prevention and resilience for individual houses. They are helping people to find out about their flood risk. After that they can make a personal flood plan and find adequate products to prevent water coming into the house.

Working together
Mary Dhonau states awareness of flooding is becoming more and more important in Europe. “Flooding is set to get worse with the effects of climate change. Dhonau: “Professionals and home owners have to work together to plan, prepare and mitigate against being flooded. That means collective emergency planning and collective flood mitigation – hard engineered, improved infrastructure, more sustainable urban drainage, property level protection and also using ‘soft flood defences’ -which can slow the flow. Doing all this will reduce the awful impact that being flooded can have in individuals, businesses and the countries effected. “

Pioneer in Europe
When the English first lady of Flooding is asked if other European countries need their own Mary Dhonau she answers humbly: “I am by no means unique.” With this answers she is underestimating the impact and the importance of her fame. In the Netherlands, for example, the awareness of flooding is very low. Recently a public campaign started to warn Dutch citizens for the risk of flooding, but there is no-one playing a key-role in this debate. Someone like Mary Dhonau could have a great influence.

Cooperation is key
Mary Dhonau states cooperation with professionals and the government is very important her work: “I think citizens should stand up and take governments and the insurance sector to task if necessary. But this can be done in a collaborative way – not in angry mode. I have always found that by working in partnership, great things can be achieved! I think that the government has the tools to raise awareness of flood risk but they shouldn’t do this exclusively. Working with ‘Community Champions’ is a great way of getting a hard message both out and accepted!”

Engaged
For being successful in disseminating the message of flood resilience it is necessary to be passionate. Mary Dhonau thinks her passion is key to her success: “I am really evangelical about the issue. I am not a ‘government official’ telling people what they should do. When I’m working within communities and they find out I’ve been flooded myself, they always relate to me as I can empathise with them and because of that I am trusted. I am also a great ‘Flood Campaigner’, so communities and individuals know that I will stand up and fight for them if necessary.”

Awareness
OECD recently published a report on stakeholder engagement. It was based on research and 62 % of the respondents thought a lack of awareness of citizens was a major obstacle for stakeholder agreement. “I am constantly surprised as to how few people are unaware of their own flood risk. Especially if it hasn’t happened in their area for a length of time, people do become complacent. In the UK a large proportion of insurance claims are from surface water flooding. Not having a river or sea to alert you to the fact that you are vulnerable to flooding is a very difficult concept to understand. I have lost count of how many people who have said to me that they live on a hill and couldn’t possibly flood. In truth, even those living on a hill can flood with overland run off – quite a few properties sited on hills were flooded in the 2012 floods in the UK. My philosophy is ‘Never say that it won’t happen to me as life has a funny way of proving you wrong’!”

Flood Defence Expo
As it all starts with awareness Mary Dhonau is giving lectures and presentations at many occasions. International water professionals are able to hear her story and learn from her experiences at the international Flood Defence Expo, 14-15 October in London.