Association of Drainage Board Authorities calls for more funding for routine maintenance for Lincolnshire flood defences

Drainage chiefs say squeezed Government budgets could be leaving us vulnerable when our flood defences are ‘in the worst state of repair they have been in for many years’.

Association of Drainage Authorities (ADA) chief executive Innes Thomson is calling for more money to be pumped into covering day-to-day maintenance work in the run-up to next winter rather than ‘relying on a wing and a prayer’ to get through unscathed.

The association has given a cautious welcome to last week’s Spending Review when Chancellor Rachel Reeves committed £4.2 billion over three years to ‘maintain and build’ the country’s flood defences - but is appealing for increased funding for routine work.

South Lincolnshire has already paid the price of damaged flood defences after the South Forty Foot Drain spilled over an unrepaired bank and covered cereal crops in the Dunsby this winter.

Two holes were blown in the banks of the River Welland in the Crowland and Cowbit washes during Storm Henk in January 2024 which created misery for farmers, sailors and anglers in the Spalding area who had to wait more than six months for the Environment Agency to complete repairs.

Mr Thomson said “The chancellor has made forward commitments which are welcome across the industry, but we have the rest of this year and a winter to endure with reduced asset resilience and little or no money to carry out basic maintenance on certain important watercourses.

“I’m not comfortable relying on a wing and a prayer to get us through this period and we need to urgently reinstate maintenance works which have been halted “

Lincolnshire IDBs have raised concerns about the Helpringham Eau around Billingborough - which suffered flooding earlier this year; Helpringham Eau and Shire Dyke, near Newark,

Other waterways includes East and West Fen Catchwaters in Witham, near West Keal; River Bain, upstream of Horncastle; South Delph, near Lincoln; lower River Witham; and North Beck.

The ADA has welcomed the Government drive to seek efficiencies in the way the Environment Agency procures and delivers risk management but is calling for more money to be used for routine flood risk maintenance.

Money announced in the spending review for flood defences will not be kicking in - which could be storing up problems for next year.

A statement from the association said: “We are currently seeing the direct effects of a contraction on budgets this year with several areas reporting significant reductions in money available to carry out routine maintenance operations.

“So whilst the next three years look to be well positioned, there is an immediate need to manage and maintain our river and drainage systems in preparation for next winter and very few professionals would take any betting odds on what our weather could throw at us.

“If we have another winter, the like of what we saw in 2023-24, there will be a lot of questions to answer by Government about why there was a gap in spending which left the country vulnerable when our flood risk assets are in the worst state of repair they have been in for many years.”

South Holland District Council along with a number of affected local authorities have been fighting for a sustainable funding solution for internal drainage boards and has been calling on the Government.

IDBs carry out vital work in reducing flood risk and maintaining water levels, but their levies have reached unprecedented levels — and these are paid for by affected local authorities, meaning the burden falls on ratepayers in areas such as south Lincolnshire, despite the benefit being felt much further afield.

The drainage board costs have risen dramatically in recent years as wetter winters has resulted in higher energy bills as they pump away water in order to keep homes and businesses safe.

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