Environment Agency reveals money spent on River Welland, River Glen and South Forty Foot Drain in aftermath of Lincolnshire floods

The authorities say they have spent millions on maintaining the area’s waterways – but have come under fire for not fixing a breached bank quickly enough.

A Freedom of Information request submitted by this website has found that the Environment Agency has spent £2,432,951.10 on the River Welland, River Glen and South Forty Foot Drain over a nine-month period.

The Environment Agency – which bid for £8.9million from Government to fund maintenance work but received less than half of that – also says it has spent £155,000 on maintaining the navigation waterways on three watercourses. It also received reports of 124 holes along banks of the three rivers.

But the agency has come under some fire for the time it is taking to repair the breach in the bank at Cowbit and Crowland Wash, which was swept away last month during Storm Henk and resulted in nearby farmland flooding more than once.

Farmer Trevor Tyrrell, whose land around the breach has been affected by the flood water, has highlighted the time it has taken to repair the flooding seen in the area during the devastating 1947 floods which resulted in amphibious Buffalo vehicles being used.

Get the news delivered straight to your inbox every morning - sign up to The Briefing here

Mr Tyrrell said: “In 1947 they had the breach repaired in three weeks and got rid of the water.

“This breach first happened in early January and no start has been made on repairing the hole.

“What is happening with the EA that it has taken this long to get something done.”

Information released to this website has showed that this year is going to be an expensive year for the EA.

It has spent £2,432,951.10 between April 1, 2023, and January 8, 2023, on maintaining the three watercourses, compared with the £2,449,436.40 between April 1, 2022, and March 31, 2023.

In the current financial year, the EA has spent £1,530,741.41 on the Welland, £44,504 on the tidal Welland, along with £649,020.50 on the Glen and £208,685.29 on the South Forty Foot.

The EA has also spent £140,000 on maintaining the navigation waterway of the River Welland and £15,000 on the South Forty Foot over the last eight months.

The agency has also stated that maintenance includes grass and weed cutting, de-silting of channels, tree management, repairs to structures and embankments along with mechanical and electrical maintenance.

Our FOI has showed that there were 52 instances of holes reported on the South Forty Foot and it’s tributaries and 72 on the Welland and Glen.

A spokesperson for the Environment Agency said: “Whilst we have seen flood impacts across the counties, over 11,000 properties have been protected from flooding through the operation of our flood risk assets.

“The Environment Agency receives a set amount of funding to carry out maintenance works and therefore, the funding must go towards areas that carry the most risk. In 2023-24, we bid for £8.9million to carry out maintenance works within the River Welland and Nene catchments and were allocated £3.98 million.

“The issues with the bank at the Cowbit and Crowland Washes were not brought to the EA’s attention until the morning of the collapse and due to flooding and poor conditions, there was no safe way that the damage could have been fixed. However, the Environment Agency continues to be vigilant in carrying out inspections and identifying where work is required with the work being prioritised against other asset damage in the area.”

The spokesman also said that funding is being sought to fund the repair to the bank at Cowbit and Crowland Wash.

He said: “The Environment Agency alongside Welland and Deepings Internal Drainage Board had recently been making progress with draining the washes, but the recent high flows on the washes have set this back. We are working with our partners to explore all options to drain the washes down. We are also seeking approval for funding the repair to the embankment.”

Do you feel that the Environment Agency deserves more funding? Is enough money being spent on maintaining our waterways? Tell us your views in the comments below...