Agenda item

(To receive a report from Paul Brookes, County Flood Risk Manager, which provides the Committee with the opportunity to consider and comment on the outcomes and recommendations of the investigation into the flooding at Wainfleet in June 2019 in accordance with S.19 of the Flood & Water Management Act 2010)

Consideration was given to a report on the outcome of the investigation into the flooding at Wainfleet in June 2019 in accordance with S.19 Flood & Water Management Act 2010.

It was reported that following a prolonged period of heavy rainfall in June 2019 there was widespread flooding across Lincolnshire.  The eastern side of the county was particularly affected, especially Wainfleet (All Saints), Holbeach, Spalding and Great Steeping.  Most notably, a significant number of properties in Wainfleet were flooded from at least two sources, initially surface water compounded by a breach in the embanked Wainfleet Relief Channel.

Over the period 10 – 13 June 2019, around 62 properties were flooded in Wainfleet, Thorpe St. Peter and Thorpe Culvert, with further significant flooding elsewhere in East Lindsey district which fell outside the scope of the scrutiny committee report.

The consequences of the breach at Wainfleet were severe enough to trigger a multi-agency response in order that military aid could be called upon.  Lincolnshire County Council, as Lead Local Flood Authority, has a duty under S. 19 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 to investigate flooding.  The events at Wainfleet met the requirements to carry out a flood investigation.  Due to the increased pressure on resources as a result of the widespread flooding, Norfolk County Council was approached to carry out the flood investigation on behalf of Lincolnshire County Council.  The final report was attached at appendix A to the report.

The Committee was advised that the recommendations in the report were fairly clear and linked well with the works which were being explored on the ground through the Steeping Steering Group.

The Executive Councillor for Economy and Place advised that it was now for the Committee to review the report and recommendations and add anything further that the Committee felt was relevant.

The Chairman of the Steeping River Catchment Steering Group addressed the Committee and advised that he had been asked to Chair the steering group on behalf of the Flood and Water Partnership.  The group was looking at the whole catchment from source to sea, including improving the conveyance of water throughout the catchment and the resilience of the flood banks, particularly the relief channel, and ensuring that weed growth did not occur in the channel.  There was also a need to ensure that the flows of water coming into the River Steeping were appropriate for the banks.  The recommendations from the report would inform the work of the Partnership, for the Steeping Steering Group to implement on their behalf.

Representatives from the Environment Agency, Lindsey Marsh Drainage Board and Anglian Water were all in attendance and confirmed that they were committed to continuing to work with other flood risk partners and authorities.

Councillor Mrs W Bowkett, local member for Wainfleet, was in attendance, and informed the Committee than many of the members of the public attending this meeting had been flooded.  The Committee was informed that 60 families had been flooded, and every time it rained, it was causing significant stress to residents.  There was concern that the river had been close to flooding again in the day's preceding this meeting, and Councillor Mrs Bowkett had been in constant contact with several agencies during this time.

Members were provided with the opportunity to comment and ask questions to the officers present in relation to the information contained within the report and some of the points raised during discussion included the following:

·         There was a need for a discussion about how flood defences should be funded in the future.  The flooding in Wainfleet had been a serious event, and members wanted to be able to give some assurance to the people of Wainfleet that the risk of this happening again would be minimised.  There was a need for the government to look again at flooding issues nationally, as this was not something which should be dealt with on a regional level.

·         The representative for West Lindsey District Council commented that he was disappointed with the report and felt that it talked around the topic.  The main issue seemed to be who the water 'belonged to' as in times of flood, it appeared that no-one wanted to take responsibility for it.  There were 1000 miles of embankment within Lincolnshire that the Environment Agency looked after.  It was reported that there had been another breach at Short Ferry, and it was not acceptable to allow water to flow out of the channels and into other areas. 

·         It was queried when was work was going to commence and how long it would take to complete.  Members were advised that it was hoped that work would commence as soon as possible, however there were funding criteria which would need to be met, and a process to follow whilst bidding for funding.  It was thought that the work which had been carried out so far gave clear evidence of what should be done.  However, it was not certain how long it would take for the work to be completed.  The Steering Group was looking for a long term sustainable fix rather than a quick fix.

·         The Environment Agency advised that the Steering Group was looking at four main key themes, but it was noted that each would have different timescales.

Ø  Flow through catchment – total outfalls and conveyance through the system.  Some work had been done on this but it was not quite complete.

Ø  Raised defences and resilience – it was important to ensure that these assets had regular maintenance carried out.  It was expected that there would be a need for additional funding going forward.

Ø  Flood water storage and catchment – flood management work over the upper catchment area could have a beneficial impact further down the system.

Ø  Managing residual flood risk – it was not possible to totally eradicate flooding in the future, but it was important that the flood risk was managed going forward.  this would include improving the resilience of the community and the flood defences.

·         It was commented that the Authority had a responsibility to produce this report as the Lead Local Flood Authority.  However, it was very bland and did not provide any information which was not already known.  It was suggested whether there was a need for something similar for Lincolnshire to the Government's COBRA committee which would meet when severe weather events were forecasted. There was a need for the emergency committee to have some powers so that resources could be provided where needed.

·         It was queried whether there were any quick temporary solutions which could be implemented to give people some relief and assurance that things were being done.

·         It was confirmed that the pumping station had been switched off for an hour during this event, and members were advised that this was because the Steeping River and bypass channel were getting very full, and a request was made to switch if off until the water level subsided.

·         There was a need for funding from national government, as there was not enough funding within Lincolnshire to do the work which was needed.

·         It was noted that the river bank had broken three times in the same place.

·         One member wished to draw attention to one of the positives highlighted in the report, which was the existence of the Flood and Water Partnership.  This was an example in Lincolnshire of organisations accepting that they had a shared responsibility for water, and it was the responsibility of all agencies to protect people.  There were lessons learned after the Louth and Horncastle flooding and this brought the IDB and partner authorities together.  Under the Flood and Water Management Act 2010, it fell to Lincolnshire County Council to take the lead, but all agencies came together.  The recommendations in the report where welcomed and endorsed.

·         One member commented that they had read all the minutes of the Lindsey Marsh Drainage Board, who had identified that there would be issues at some point, and had set a plan to address it, but it was never implemented.

·         In terms of the work which would be carried out through the Steering Group on the flows through the catchment area, it was queried when it was likely that there would be an action plan, as that was what residents would be interested in.  The report, and any action going forward, was welcomed.  Members were advised that it was the intention to have an action plan ready and costed out by the time of the public meeting, which was due to take place on Saturday 4 April 2020.

·         It was commented that there was a need to consider that as the North Sea was rising, eventually the river would not be able to discharge into the sea, and that water would need to go somewhere.

·         It was highlighted that any work would require funding and it was noted that there would be occasions when this would cost more than the local members of the partnership could afford, and so it was queried whether the partnership was collectively lobbying hard enough for its share of national funding.

·         In terms of grant and aid funding, there was money that the Environment Agency received from Defra on behalf of risk management authorities.  The Partnership received a certain amount of funding per outcome. 

·         The Executive Councillor for Economy and Place commented that the report followed a set format and it was acknowledged that it was bland, and was not as clear as the public would like to see.  There was a challenge around funding, as the main issue was that the government had never properly understood the value of Lincolnshire's agricultural land.  There was a need to have a conversation with government about this, as the price of food would increase the following year as a result of the floods.  There was a national problem around water management.

·         There was very good scenario planning in Lincolnshire, and the Partnership had worked well.  The Executive Councillor paid tribute to Councillor Mrs Bowkett as the local member, for all her efforts during the flooding as she worked constantly with the emergency services.  Tribute was also paid to East Lindsey District Council for their response to the incident, and how they continued to manage the response.

·         There was a need to get to a point where places like Wainfleet would not be flooded again.

RESOLVED

a)    That the flood investigation report attached as Appendix A to the report be noted;

b)    That Lincolnshire County Council be endorsed as the Lead Local Flood Authority to lead on the partnership approach in delivering the recommendation as set out in Appendix A to the report;

c)    That the Committee requests to see the action plan by 18 May 2020.

d)    That the Chairman writes to the government on behalf of the Committee regarding funding for flood prevention.

e)    That an update report comes back to the Committee in six months to set out what actions have been taken so far.

The Committee adjourned from 10.55am until 11.18am