Ben Ashmore - 5-Sep-2008
- Following heavy rain overnight and this
morning, the Environment Agency is advising
the public and businesses to stay vigilant
and monitor our flood warning service and
the weather forecast.
The Met Office is forecasting
very wet and windy weather today, with some
particularly heavy showers. Further rain
is expected on Saturday. Totals of between
30 and 50mm rain are possible in some areas
today.
Many places in the Midlands
are currently saturated and there is the
risk that any further heavy rainfall will
run off the ground and go straight into
the rivers. As a result, we could see the
levels in watercourses responding very quickly,
so we urge people to remain vigilant as
the unsettled period of weather continues.
There is also the possibility of flash flooding
caused by surface water during heavy rainfall.
We remind everyone to
stay aware of weather forecasts through
www.metoffice.gov.uk and local TV and radio
bulletins as well as calling the Floodline
service on 0845 988 1188. Updates on latest
flood warning situation are also available
online at: www.environment-agency.gov.uk/flood.
“We are making our normal
preparations for possible flooding, and
urge the public to do the same by checking
any flood warnings through our website or
Floodline, and through the media”, said
Regional Director Mark Sitton-Kent.
"Our workforce
have been out checking that screens and
water courses we look after are clear so
that water can flow freely."
To find out if you are
at risk from flooding call Floodline 0845
988 1188 or visit www.environment-agency.gov.uk/floodline.
+ More
Environment Agency given
green light for £8 million Shaldon
and Ringmore flood defence scheme.
Paul Gainey - 2-Sep-2008
- The Environment Agency has received financial
approval for the design and construction
of the £8.5 million tidal defence
scheme for Shaldon and Ringmore.
Many of the properties
in Shaldon and Ringmore are built on low-lying
ground, which would probably have been saltmarsh
hundreds of years ago. They now lie in a
basin behind the existing estuary walls.
In 2005, the Environment
Agency and the local community agreed that
Shaldon is at serious risk of tidal flooding
and a flood defence scheme was needed.
In Shaldon an extreme
tide is caused when a ‘normal’ high tide
coincides with a surge caused by low pressure
systems (stormy weather). A flood with a
1 in 50 chance of happening in any one year
could cause extensive flooding to the village
with the basin filled completely during
a single tide.
A grant of £8.5
million has now been agreed to spend on
a scheme.
‘We will need other
approvals along the way, such as Planning
Permission, but this is a major step forward.
If all goes to plan, we hope to start construction
in the autumn of 2009,’ said Megan Rimmer
for the Environment Agency.
‘The effects of an extreme
flood from the estuary would be devastating
for the village. We are committed to progressing
the right solution to reduce the risk of
tidal flooding in Shaldon and Ringmore.’
The Environment Agency
has worked with a Liaison Group of local
volunteers to come up with a scheme that
is both effective and acceptable in the
community. It held a public exhibition in
June 2007 and the proposed scheme is to
raise existing foreshore walls where possible
and reconstruct where needed.
There will be eight
flood gates which will be operated locally.
The Environment Agency will continue to
work with the Liaison Group throughout the
development of the project.
‘Following the allocation
of funds we now enter a challenging and
exciting few years as we work on the flood
defence improvements. We have been working
hard with the Environment Agency to ensure
this is the right scheme for Shaldon and
Ringmore. Everybody worked together on the
proposal which was the key to our success,‘
said Professor Peter Williams from the Liaison
Group and Chairman of Shaldon Parish Council.
+ More
It’s a family affair
with Environment Agency long service
Ben Ashmore - 4-Sep-2008
- The likelihood of any one person reaching
117 years service at an organisation is,
unfortunately, quite improbable. However,
three Environment Agency staff are celebrating
long service having notched up 117 years
service between them. What is even more
impressive is that the three staff are all
brothers who are part of three generations
of a family that have worked hard to combat
the risk of flood in the mid Severn, River
Teme and Stour catchments.
Dave, Don and Mike Collins
have all followed in the footsteps of their
father Bob, who for an impressive 21 years
worked at the Severn River Board, an early
incarnation of the Environment Agency.
For 47 years, Mike Collins
has worked for the Environment Agency and
its predecessors. For a great deal of his
career Mike worked as a construction foreman
and now operates an excavator.
Dave Collins, follows
Mike closely behind having achieved 40 years
service. Dave started his career as a machine
operator, and now works as a technical support
team member, providing a vital role assisting
with the inspection of flood risk management
assets.
When Don Collins first
started his career 30 years ago, the first
non-American or Russian was being launched
into space on the day he started work. Skilled
in construction work, Don is now the field
Team Leader in Kidderminster.
The Collins family connection
does not end there however. Seemingly inspired
by the work of his father Mike, his uncles
and his grandfather, Paul Collins is carrying
on the family mantle by working for the
Environment Agency. Showing the dedication
to long service that is evident in his relatives,
Paul has worked at the organisation for
11 years and is now a Lead Team Member,
carrying out channel clearance and construction
work.
Operations Delivery
Manager Brian Jones said: “They are a great
bunch of highly skilled, reliable and very
likeable guys who always give their best
to the job they are proud of in helping
reduce flood risk and improving the environment.”
Brian continued: “During
times of flooding they have been directly
involve in the construction of flood defences
at Bewdley, Worcester and Upton on Severn.
Over many years they have also constructed
several fish passes along the length of
the River Teme which help the passage of
salmon to reach their spawning grounds upstream.”
