The Environment Agency has outlined the work it has undertaken in around £30 million worth of investments in flood defence schemes, repairs and improvements to the thousands of flood risk assets in the Great River Ouse catchment.

The Environment Agency owns or operates 1,141 of these assets. A further 5,000 assets are owned or operated by other agencies such as internal drainage boards and local authorities.

The £30 million spend figure includes £24.6 million allocated for capital schemes and £3.8 million in maintenance for the financial year 2020 to 2021. For the financial year 2021 to 22, £11.3 million is allocated for capital schemes, and £3.7 million for maintenance.

The floods of December 2020 in the Great River Ouse catchment were caused by continued heavy rainfall on already saturated ground leading to swollen rivers causing a combination of surface water and fluvial flooding which impacted many properties across the region.

The Agency said an improved flood warning service has now been activated and is ready for winter. The 25 highest risk areas in the Great River Ouse catchment can now receive earlier flood warnings than ever before, giving those affected more time to prepare for flooding.

The Environment Agency has also issued advice to riparian property owners on their responsibilities, specifically, on how to prevent blockages to rivers that could increase flood risk.

“Flooding will continue to be a threat to our region"

For properties in areas not protected by flood defences, the Environment Agency is looking at the potential for new schemes and also other measures such as Property Flood Resilience (PFR).

Simon Hawkins, Environment Agency Area Director, said:

“The Environment Agency has worked constantly over the years to better protect thousands of properties from flooding in the Great River Ouse catchment.

“Since December 2020 we have taken a range of measures to improve flood resilience across the region. We have engaged with communities affected by flooding and inspected and repaired thousands of flood defence assets. Our flood defence capital programme has continued to progress, with more flood defence schemes under construction.

“Flooding will continue to be a threat to our region. The effects are devastating to those affected and disruptive to many people, with recovery costs that can be huge.”

Investment in the area’s flood defences over the last 10 years

Between 2011 and 2021 the Environment Agency has invested over £77 million in building and funding flood defence schemes that now better protect more than 15,500 properties in Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire from flooding and erosion.

The schemes have been completed by the Environment Agency working on its own, or in partnership, and by sponsoring organisations through government Grant-in-Aid (GiA).

The types of scheme include:

• Flood and erosion protection
• Replacement flood defences
• Natural flood management
• Major flood gates
• Pumping station refurbishments
• Reservoir protection
• Individual property flood resilience measures
• Investment in flood defences nationally

In Cambridgeshire, the Agency has invested £74.6 million in flood defences since 2010, providing better protection for around 15,600 homes and in Buckinghamshire it has invested £5.7 million in flood defences since 2010, providing better protection for around 280 homes.

Investment in flood defences nationally in face of growing impacts of climate change

A record £5.2 billion will be invested between 2021 and 2027, creating around 2,000 new flood and coastal risk management schemes to better protect 336,000 properties across England.

The schemes will help to avoid £32 billion in wider economic damages, reduce the national flood risk by up to 11 per cent, and reduce the risk of considerable disruption caused by potential future flooding to the daily lives of over 4 million people.

The Agency commented:

“More extreme weather events caused by the climate emergency are being increasingly felt, and flooding will become more likely everywhere. River level records will be broken time and again and more intense rainfall will cause severe surface water flooding.”