Ben
Ashmore - 11-Jul-2008 - On Monday 14 July
2008, the Environment Agency Operations
Delivery staff will start work to remove
excess silt from road culverts along the
Horsebere Brook, at Innsworth Lane, Gloucester.
Much of the silt has
accumulated since the Summer 2007 floods,
when high water levels eroded banks, depositing
the resulting silt in the watercourse.
In some areas the silt
is blocking existing surface water drains
and so it has to be moved. Removing the
silt will also increase the capacity of
the road culverts which are quite often
the places mostly affected by silt accumulations.
George Tomlin said ‘We
are pleased to be carrying out this work
to reduce the risk from flooding that this
particular problem brings. It has taken
a long time to plan and come about because
it needs to be carried out at a time of
year when the flows are low and there is
no possibility of harming any spawning fish
which may be present in the stream.’
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Environment Agency removes
Maisemore obstruction
Ben Ashmore - 11-Jul-2008
- The Environment Agency’s Operations Delivery
and Fisheries teams have removed a huge
obstruction from the River Severn below
Maisemore Bridge.
We were told about the
obstruction by the local Parish Council
who, seeing parts of it visible above the
water, were rightly concerned that it might
attract more debris and cause a flood risk,
as well as being a potential hazard to the
non-powered craft which frequent this part
of the river.
The obstruction proved
to be a 13 metres (42 ft) long, 1 tonne
landing stage, which was probably brought
downstream by last summer’s floodwater,
trundling along the river bed until it reached
the relatively shallow water by Maisemore
Bridge.
Operations Delivery
Team Leader, Pat Hayes, says: “This was
a huge piece of metal but we managed to
haul it out of the river safely. We are
grateful to the Parish Council for spotting
it and reporting it to us. Normally, it
is the riverside owner’s responsibility
to remove debris from their own part of
the river but where it is causing a flood
risk, as this landing stage clearly was,
we will remove it to minimise the risk to
local communities. This is part of the work
we do every day to keep rivers flowing freely.”
