The creation of a Flood Team of six staff has been welcomed by members of The Highland Council's Transport, Environmental and Community Service Committee.
Members of the TEC Services Committee welcomed the allocation of around £240,000 per year from the Scottish Government to set up a dedicated Flood Team within the Council.
The need for the team has arisen with the additional duties placed upon the Council by the Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009.
The proposal for a flood team comprising: team Leader, Engineer, Senior Technician, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Database Technician and Inspector will be submitted to the Council's next Resources Committee on 14 April 2010.
Chairman of the Council's TEC Services Committee Councillor John Laing said: "We welcome the funding allocated from the Scottish Government to help local authorities meet the new duties under the Flood Risk Management Act for Scotland."
Once established, the Flood Team will maintain all flood information, prepare flood plans and manage flood data bases. The team will control and develop flood mitigation schemes, monitor all necessary flood maintenance activities within the Council, and represent the Council at all flood organisational meetings. They will also liaise with Council planners and contribute to the Council's Development Plan and Local Plan process. Staff in the new flood team will liaise with SEPA and neighbouring local authorities, and ensure that their respective plans are integrated.