Water, Sustainable Drainage and Flood Management Bill

The Water, Sustainable Drainage and Flood Management Bill was introduced by the Minister for Infrastructure, on Monday, 23 June 2025.

The Bill completed its Second Stage on Tuesday, 16 September 2025 and was referred to the Committee for Infrastructure for scrutiny (the Committee Stage of the Bill).

The primary purpose of the proposed Bill is to introduce legislative changes that will:

    • Reduce water pollution: Implement measures to decrease pollution in watercourses;
    • Strengthen flood resilience: Enhance the region's ability to withstand extreme weather events, particularly flooding and drought;
    • Promote sustainable drainage: Encourage the use of sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) as the preferred method for managing surface water; and
    • Improve water resource management: Introduce more environmentally friendly solutions for managing water resources.

Further information on the Bill can be found below:

An Explanatory and Financial Memorandum (EFM) is a document that accompanies a bill. It provides a detailed explanation of the bill's purpose, background, policy objectives, and its potential financial, human rights, and other impacts.

Call for Evidence

As part of the Assembly’s legislative processes, the Committee will now consider and take evidence on the Bill and report its opinion to the Assembly. This is known as the 'Committee Stage' of the Bill. It is the responsibility of the Committee to examine the provisions within the Bill during the Committee Stage.

As part of its work, the Committee is seeking views from stakeholders on the objectives, proposals and potential consequences of the Bill and would welcome your views and comments on its contents.

 

The closing date for submissions is 3 December 2025

 

How to submit your views

It is important that your submission is structured to address the specific clauses and schedules of the Bill. If appropriate, it should include any amendments you wish to propose to the text of the Bill.

Written submissions should be sent electronically in Word format (not PDF) to: committee.infrastructure@niassembly.gov.uk

If you cannot submit electronically you may send a hard copy written submission to:

Clerk to the Committee for Infrastructure
Room 416

Parliament Buildings
Ballymiscaw
Stormont,
Belfast,
BT4 3XX.

Organisations or individuals responding to this call for views should note that their written submission (either in whole or part) may be published on the Committee webpage and may be quoted in the Committee’s report or referred to in Committee meetings (which are public and are broadcast).

The Committee recognises that in some circumstances people may prefer for their evidence to be treated as confidential or published anonymously. If you wish to do this, please make this clear when submitting your evidence.

Before sending us your views please read the Northern Ireland Assembly Committees Privacy Notice.  This tells you how we process your personal data.

Useful Information