Rita
Penman - 4-Mar-2008 - A team from the Environment
Agency has turned the clock back hundreds
of years by employing an ancient method
to tackle river bank erosion.
Environment Agency teams
have in the past used engineering methods
including using steel piles, wooden planks
and large slabs of frost-proof stone to
prevent bank erosion on the River Ancholme
– all of which have a limited shelf life.
Now they are going back to basics and employing
a traditional method known as Willow spilling
– where a living screen of willow is interwoven
into a lattice of soft wooden stakes along
the riverbank, forming a solid mass of roots
which protects the bank soil being eroded.
Keith Stothard, Operations
Delivery Team Leader said: ‘This traditional
craft has many advantages over other bank
protection methods, as we are using a natural
product that has an indefinite life span
and which also provides a haven for local
wildlife and consumes greenhouse gases.
‘We are also saving
money, as we are using willow that has been
cut from the banks of the River Trent during
routine maintenance and making good use
of it here. This means that the money saved
can be used elsewhere in our maintenance
programme.’
Keith’s Operations Delivery
team has protected around 4km of riverbank
along the River Ancholme north of Brandy
Wharf using the willow spilling method,
and hopes to do more and more as they start
to cut their own crop of willow.
‘We can’t use willow
spilling everywhere, but we’ll be using
this method more frequently as soon as the
willow from the first lot that we planted
grows tall enough to be cut and used elsewhere.
This will be even more cost effective than
having it donated from the team on the Trent’,
he said. ‘Sometimes the old methods really
are the best.’
+ More
Environment Agency experts
explain flood risk to Surrey
Jane Nower - 4-Mar-2008
- Over 10,000 homes in the Wey, Cut and
Bournes river catchment area are in danger
of flooding and could benefit from receiving
flood warning messages.
From 10 March 2008 members
of the Environment Agency’s flood incident
management team will be out and about in
Guildford, Godalming and Weybridge telling
people what flood warning areas are and
explaining changes to Floodline quickdial
numbers for the county. They will also be
providing people who are at risk from flooding
with advice and information about how to
protect themselves and their properties.
The Environment Agency
is also trying to encourage sign-up to their
flood warning service - Floodline Warnings
Direct. From the end of March 2008, the
organisation will automatically register
people in the Wey, Cut and Bournes flood
risk area, whose name, address and phone
number can be obtained through public records.
If this full information is unavailable,
or if someone has chosen to be ex-directory,
the Environment Agency will write to them
instead to encourage them to register.
Letters have been sent
to over 3,500 home owners in towns such
as Chertsey, Farnham and Woking to encourage
them to sign up. Last summer, the Environment
Agency changed its flood warning service
for residents in parts of Surrey to make
sure that flood warnings specifically targeted
communities in the River Wey, Cut and Bournes
catchments, rather than encompassing long
stretches of river without identifiable
landmarks nearby.
The introduction of
the new flood warning areas helped the Environment
Agency to provide a more focused service,
making it more obvious to people when flooding
will affect their area. Floodline – the
Environment Agency’s 24 hour flooding information
telephone service accessed on 0845 988 1188
– has also been updated. Quickdial numbers
help people to directly access flood information
specific to their area.
The flood incident management
team will be on hand to explain which communities
the new flood warning areas relate to, and
what the new Quickdial numbers are:
Monday 10th March between
10am – 4pm at Tesco Stores Ltd., Barnes
Wallis Drive, Weybridge, KT13 0XF
Wednesday 12th March
between 10am – 4pm at J Sainsbury plc, Clay
Lane, Jacob's Well, Guildford, GU4 7JU
Saturday 15th March
between 10am – 4pm at Homebase Ltd. Unit
1, Woolsack Way, Godalming, GU7 1DR
John Cooper, from the
flood incident management team at the Environment
Agency said: "We are urging people
to come along to the events to find out
if they are at risk of flooding and to gain
practical advice on the steps they can take
to minimise risk to themselves and their
property in the event of a flood.
“Anyone who is at risk
will be able to sign up to the Floodline
Warnings Direct service which issues flood
warnings over the phone, fax, text message
and email. Flood warnings can provide vital
time to ensure that people protect their
homes and valuables. Living in the floodplain
is never without risk, so it is vital that
residents and businesses have plans in place
to minimise the damage and impact which
flooding can cause”.
As a first step, property
owners can also check whether they are at
risk from flooding by searching for their
address on the Environment Agency flood
maps, which are available on our website
- www.environment-agency.gov.uk - or by
contacting Floodline on 0845 988 1188.
Anne Milton, Member
of Parliament for Guildford, is supporting
the Environment Agency’s drive to increase
sign up for the warnings. She said: “A significant
number of homes in Guildford and Waverley
are susceptible to flooding. The Environment
Agency’s updated flood warning messages
could help local people protect their homes
and possessions. I strongly urge all local
people whose homes are at risk to get in
touch with the Environment Agency to find
out more about the early warning system.”
Ends
Notes for editors
Louise Guy from the
flood incident management team is available
for interviews on Tuesday 4th and Wednesday
5th March 08. Remember, you can call Floodline
on 0845 988 1188 any time night or day for
real-time flood warnings and advice.
