Dave Ferguson - 14-Mar-2007
- Water management in and around the River
Thames will be on the agenda at an Environment
Agency national board meeting being held
in Oxford next week.
The board, which meets six times a year
across the country, will meet on Wednesday,
21 March, in the St Aldates Room at Oxford
Town Hall, Oxford.
There will be an opportunity for members
of the public to meet the board during a
45-minute question and answer session, which
begins at 9.30am. Environment Agency chairman
Sir John Harman, chief executive Barbara
Young, and board members and directors will
be available to take questions and discuss
local issues.
The full board meeting, which the public
are welcome to observe, begins at 10.30am
and will end no later than 4pm, with a break
for lunch at 1pm.
The board will be looking at issues affecting
the control of water flow along the River
Thames, such as the Oxford Flood Alleviation
Strategy. There are currently 3,600 homes
at risk of flooding in Oxford, and the Environment
Agency is looking at a strategy to improve
the flow of water through the city and reduce
the risk of flooding to these homes.
The board will also look at water resources
in the south east, including Thames Water’s
proposal to build a reservoir to the south
west of Abingdon. The Environment Agency
is still not convinced that Thames Water
needs to build a resource of the scale and
in the location proposed to meet the future
need for water.
Details of all Environment Agency board
meetings can be found on the website, www.environment-agency.gov.uk/board.
The full agenda and board papers for the
meeting are also available on the website.
Anyone interested in taking part in the
question and answer session should contact
Chris Underwood on 020 7863 8769, or email
chris.underwood@environment-agency.gov.uk
+ More
Environment Agency says check your flood
risk using our flood maps
Head Office Press Office - 16-Mar-2007
- On the 60th anniversary of the devastating
1947 floods, the Environment Agency today
encouraged people to check to see if they
were at risk of flooding using their updated
flood maps.
"The 1947 floods saw all major rivers
in the south, Midlands, East Anglia and
north into Yorkshire burst their banks when
heavy rain swept into the country inundating
almost 300,000 hectares across England -
a total area equivalent to the size of Kent,"
said Environment Agency Chief Executive,
Barbara Young.
"By the end of that month the floodwaters
receded to reveal the true extent of the
damage, estimated at £12 million in
1947 - equivalent to around £300 million
pounds in 2007.
"Although floods on the scale of 1947
are rare, history shows they do happen and
we encourage people to look at our flood
map on the Environment Agency website to
find out whether you live in an area that
could flood from rivers or the sea.
"If you find out you are at risk you
can sign up to receive free flood warnings
from our Floodline Warnings Direct service.
We want everyone to understand that if you
could be affected by flooding you should
take action now to prepare. Have a flood
plan in place so you know what needs to
be done in the event of a flood. For information
and advice, please contact Floodline on
0845 9881188 or log onto our website."
The Environment Agency’s national flood
risk assessment and flood maps together
provide local authorities, homeowners, businesses
and the insurance industry with the latest
information to help them assess flood risks
and take action to minimise damage and disruption.
"The expected damage from floods in
England and Wales has already reached a
level of £1.4 billion each year on
average. We are therefore spending much
more on clearing up and restoring damage
caused by floods than we are investing to
prevent the damages occurring.
"At present 4.6 million people in
England and Wales are at risk from flooding
from rivers or the sea. Building in floodplains
means we now have over 2.3 million properties
in areas that could flood. In all there
is property land and assets valued over
£237 billion at risk.
"The location of new development is
the single most important factor to avoid
flood risk increasing, followed by the layout
and the design of development on a site.
Getting these three essential aspects right
means that planning authorities can avoid
increasing the number of lives at risk and
contribute greatly to reducing flood risk."
There are many actions that can be taken
to reduce flood risk, including better flood
forecasting and warning, emergency planning
and response, making properties resistant
and/or resilient to flooding, better planning
and design of new developments, floodplain
restoration and improved land management.
The Flood Map and information are available
at www.environment-agency.gov.uk/flood.
