Surface Water Strategy, Policy and Legislation

This chapter provides an introduction to policy, legislation and strategy in relation to surface water management. It consists of a case study that compares surface water legislation in England and Scotland, two constituent countries of the UK. Surface water legislation in developed economies is typically not encapsulated in a single national law implemented consistently across government, but by a range of regulatory measures concerning flooding and water quality at national, regional and local levels. In federal government systems such as the USA, Germany and Australia, high-level policy is enshrined in law at the national level, then interpreted and implemented at the state and further at the regional and/or local level. As in Germany, policy and legislation in the UK is enacted at a number of levels, from international guidance, through national and regional interpretations of that guidance enhanced by strategies, to practical implementation and monitoring at the local level.