New Year Greetings to my EA friends.

Another year has passed and it is time for me to offer the compliments of the season to my many friends at the Environment Agency.

It is now four years since thousands of people downstream of Windsor were affected by serious Thames flooding for the first time since 1947.  Naturally the EA issued robust denials that the construction and use of their brand new £110m flood alleviation scheme magnified downstream flooding.  Initially the EA effectively suppressed the evidence, and with generous helpings of spin and obfuscation successfully ‘proved’ that their actions had not significantly exacerbated the January 2003 flood event.  Unfortunately for the EA, the Jubilee River facts have slowly emerged over time, including significant design shortcomings and major structural failures, but true-to-form the EA have consistently denied mis-operation of the scheme.  Although WS Atkins are now contracted to review the JR Operating Procedure, the situation in the villages is probably worse today than it was four years ago.  This is because the EA ceased regular Thames dredging for flood defence purpose when they took over from the National Rivers Authority in April 1995. 

This year has been particularly revealing, with the Jubilee River still unable to carry its design capacity of 215 cumecs, and repair costs now on the way to £4m.  A successful claim by the EA for substandard design resulted in a £2.75m out-of-court settlement, but although it may make the EA feel better, this does nothing to help the people at risk of flooding downstream of Windsor.

At best, the EA are unwilling to resume dredging, and their list of excuses (sorry – ‘justifications’) gets ever longer, including ‘no money’, ‘no disposal facilities’, and the recently discovered ‘Depressed River Mussels’ under Staines Bridge.  The EA prefer instead to consider a series of new Thames by-pass channels but will not even be applying for funding until 2010. 

In fact wherever you look, the EA demonstrate a marked reluctance to maintain watercourses.  It seems that since the EA became responsible for flood defence, the centuries-old tradition of building and maintaining flood defences have been abandoned without consultation. 

The practice of watercourse maintenance has measurably declined and been replaced with the cheaper, easier and safer administrative process of ‘flood risk management’ - remotely conducted via a keyboard situated in a warm, dry, air-conditioned office. So be warned.  It appears while you can now ask the council to clear a blocked road drain, absolutely nobody has a duty to dredge the Thames for flood defence purpose.  In my opinion, neglect of Thames dredging for flood defence purposes will increase the probability of flooding.  So if the EA will not take responsibility for the practical aspects of reducing the chance of flooding, we are in urgent need of a change in the law.

Finally my suggestion to the EA for the forthcoming year: Apart from some honesty, how about some effective action to reduce the probability of flooding for those people who suffered injustice while simultaneously paying your wages.

Regards

Ewan