Tim
Abbott - 11-Feb-2008 - The Maidenhead Waterways
Restoration Group (MWRG) has joined forces
with the Environment Agency (EA) to try
and make an ambitious waterways redevelopment
a reality.
A major Water Resources
Study for the MWRG, commissioned last summer,
examined how much water the scheme would
need to bring the waterway back to life
and how it can be sourced. This week the
Environment Agency has given a provisional
go-ahead to the idea. The Environment Agency’s
water resources team has reviewed the report
and concluded that there is sufficient water
available in the local river system to support
the proposed scheme, dependent on the resolution
of a number of technical conditions.
The report examined
the available water supply in the area in
relation to the needs of the restored waterway,
concentrating on issues such as evaporation,
losses through the bed and the need for
a ‘sweetening flow’ to avoid algae build
up. A further study by MWRG into the sustainability
of the channel is ongoing, using boreholes
sunk along the route. The Environment Agency
is also carrying out its own study of flow
and groundwater levels in the river system.
Although the Environment
Agency has agreed in principle with the
MWRG’s aims, the team of experts has already
raised a number of issues for further investigation
including flood risk, ecological impact
and flow operating controls which would
need to be addressed in order for the waterway
plan to come to life.
Richard Davenport, Vice
Chairman and Trustee for the Maidenhead
Waterways Restoration Group, said: “Our
Group is happy to be working so closely
with the Environment Agency, as their advice
is invaluable to us when working out the
finer details of how we can make our ideas
happen. We are especially pleased to receive
its endorsement of the main conclusions
of the Water Resources Study prepared for
us by Black and Veatch. The Environment
Agency’s comments on our report and agreement
in principle to grant consent for the water
flows needed, mark a major step forward
in the Group’s technical feasibility work.”
The Environment Agency’s
South East Area Manager, Peter Quarmby,
said: “The MWRG’s plans to restore Maidenhead’s
waterways present a perfect opportunity
for the Environment Agency to achieve many
of its ecological and recreational aims.
The restoration of the York Stream has the
potential to provide a wonderful habitat
for wildlife and a pleasant destination
for Maidenhead’s residents and visitors.
“However, our role when
working on projects of this nature is to
examine the needs of everyone that would
be touched by the changes to the river.
In Maidenhead, examining flood risk is a
major priority, and the MWRG will need to
work with us very closely to look at how
they propose to manage water levels in the
channel. This careful management of the
water would have to be undertaken both in
times of excessive rainfall and in times
of drought, which have been seen in Maidenhead
in recent years.
“Working with the Group
we will also examine a number of other issues
including health and safety concerns related
to low bridges and who will undertake maintenance
and upkeep of the channel.”
Plans for restoring
Maidenhead’s waterways are backed by the
Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead
and are expected to form part of the updated
Local Development Framework and associated
action plans to rejuvenate Maidenhead town
centre.
Further information
on the Group and its plans for the Maidenhead
waterways restoration scheme can be seen
on MWRG's web site at www.maidenheadwaterways.org
+ More
Environment Agency announces
Axholme flood study
Michelle Dolphin - 11-Feb-2008
- Following the closure of the consultation
on the Trent Catchment Flood Management
Plan (CFMP), the Environment Agency is announcing
plans to assess the long term flood risk
management options for the Isle of Axholme.
The Trent CFMP has identified
that, in the long-term, we need to reduce
our flood risk management activities in
the Isle of Axholme. We need to determine
the most suitable flood management options
for the future. We want to work with the
people who live and work in the Isle of
Axholme to try to find a solution that everyone
can live with long term. We welcome our
recent meeting with representatives from
North Lincolnshire Council, The Isle of
Axholme Internal Drainage Board and local
MP Ian Cawsey.
The Isle of Axholme
is predominantly land drained by human intervention.
Keeping the river out is a battle against
the forces of nature. The drainage system
that currently operates was primarily designed
to manage water levels for agricultural
purposes. It was not designed to cope with
property flooding, and the pumps are reaching
the end of their working lives.
This is not sustainable
long term, especially given the potential
impact of climate change. Big decisions
need to be made about the best way to manage
floods in future.
The Trent Catchment
Flood Management Plan (CFMP) first identified
the need to look at alternative ways of
managing floods in this area and, when we
have considered all the consultation responses,
a final report will be issued. But the CFMP
covers the whole of the River Trent and
its tributaries, an area of more than 10,000
square kilometres. The broad strategies
it contains are not detailed enough to enable
us to plan for the future of Axholme.
We need more detailed
information to find out exactly what the
application of the policy in the Trent CFMP
means in the short, medium and longer terms
for the Isle of Axholme. This is what the
study will provide.
Area Manager, Sarah
Fowler, says ”I want to reassure people
that we are listening and that we are not
walking away from the Isle of Axholme. But
we cannot go on the way we are. The pumping
equipment is old. We need to look at managing
flood risk in a way that makes space for
water and seeks to minimise flood risk to
people and property. We cannot do this alone.
“We need to do things
differently and this new study will tell
us what options there are. We will continue
our active discussions with partners and
public representatives and work with the
people who live and work on the Isle of
Axholme to try to find an acceptable long
term solution.”
Local MP, Ian Cawsey,
said “The announcement of a flood study
for the area is welcomed. Everything I heard
at the recent meeting of partners supported
the view that, given climate change, status
quo is not an option. Only a partnership
approach will leave our area properly defended.
I will chair a further meeting of the partners
later in the month."
+ More
Eagle Radio is an official
Environment Agency flood warning partner
Tim Abbott - 11-Feb-2008
- The Environment Agency has signed up local
radio station Eagle Radio as an official
media ‘flood warning’ partner.
When the Environment
Agency is expecting weather conditions to
lead to flooding it issues a series of alerts
known as flood watches and flood warnings
directly to the public by text, phone, fax
or email, as well as via local media.
As 96.4 Eagle Radio,
broadcasts to a wide range of listeners,
reaching homes and businesses in areas including
Guildford, Farnham, Bordon, Godalming, Dorking,
Farnborough and Woking it is hoped that
the Environment Agency’s messages will be
heard far and wide.
In each region managed
by the Environment Agency, teams of staff
plan the way that the area should respond
to flooding, both from the point of view
of preparing for and reacting to events.
Forecasting for the rivers in the south
east of the Thames region takes place in
Reading at the Environment Agency’s Flood
Forecasting Centre, where an extensive network
of rain and river gauges are monitored and
a variety of forecasting techniques are
used to predict what is expected to happen.
If rivers are forecast to come out of banks
or flood properties, Flood Watches or Warnings
are issued by the Thames South East Area
Flood Incident Management team.
Louise Guy, a flood
incident technical specialist for the south
east of the Thames region said:
"Eagle Radio broadcasts
to areas affected by a range of different
rivers that respond in different ways to
rainfall conditions. People who listen to
Eagle Radio should visit the Environment
Agency website or call Floodline on 0845
9881188 to find out whether they are at
risk from flooding. By broadcasting our
Flood Warnings on Eagle we can ensure our
messages are getting to a wide range of
people at risk from flooding. Keep tuned
in to Eagle to get up to date information
on any flooding situation.”
Eagle Radio’s Head of
News, Rob Harris said:
“The professional and
accurate delivery of valuable emergency
information is a vital service for our listeners.
This partnership with the Environment Agency
will mean that we are able to provide up-to-the-minute
on air information about flooding, as well
as getting a much better idea of the challenges
that face our listeners at home and at work
as they learn to deal with flooding.”
The Environment Agency
is encouraging as many people as possible
to sign up to Floodline on 0845 988 1188
to protect their homes and businesses from
flooding.
