---

Flood and Water Management Bill

My Lords, the amendment appears on its own, slightly to my surprise. The clause defines "groundwater" as meaning, ""all water which is below the surface of the ground and in direct contact with the ground or subsoil"." It occurs to me that there may be instances where groundwater, at certain times of the year, is not in contact with the surface of the ground, however that is defined. It is still groundwater, and it still may be important to contribute to flooding at various times. Groundwater may be an aquifer and it may be what might be called underground streams, particularly in areas of limestone or perhaps chalk. We all know places where there are winterbournes, which flow during the winter and not the summer, for example. It is equally possible and almost certainly occurs that some bodies of groundwater come to the surface beyond the coast. I am not sure whether "ground" includes the intertidal zone or whether it includes the land below the sea below low water. Without wanting to stray into marine Bill territory, it seems to me that a clear understanding that groundwater may sometimes, for part of the time, not actually be in contact with the ground would be helpful. I beg to move.