Updated 24/8/2008

What's wrong with the Jubilee River?

(and the Environment Agency)

£110,000,000 of your money

and no accountability.

In brief:  The Environment Agency spent £110m of public money on a flood alleviation scheme between 1996 and 2003.

A flawed concept, sub-standard design and construction, and mis-operation lead to hundreds of homes downstream of Windsor flooding for the first time in over fifty years, a £5m repair bill and a £2.75m out-of-court settlement. 

The Jubilee River is still unable to carry its design capacity, and nobody is accountable!

Click here to see - The Jubilee River - key facts

• Over five years since Thames 2003 flood event, and still no honesty from the Environment Agency

• Jubilee River - flawed design and sub-standard construction cost £110m (click here for Jan 2007 Closure report)

• Paid from the public purse, but the cover-up continues

• £2.75m out-of-court settlement for sub-standard design - September 2006 (click here)

• May never be able to carry design capacity (215 cumecs)

• Our money gone down the drain.  A fine example of responsibility without accountability!

• Channel fails to contain flood water even at relatively low volumes.

• Existing gauge boards submerged (unreadable) at low volumes.

• Environment Agency blame anything and anyone except themselves (click here for July 2007 letter)

• Cheltenham flood defences substandard - September 2007 (click here)

• Environment Agency liquidates national assets (click here)

• Water with nowhere to go causes flooding

• Probability of flooding now increasing due to neglect of watercourses and flood defences

• Environment Agency want flood plain to flood (click here to see Thames CFMP)

• Money spent on flood defence reduces probability of flooding.

• Another £1.4m in repair costs (April 2007)

• Jubilee River - Taplow Mill Leat - Technical Report prepared for RFDC (Apr 2007)(click here)

• Insurance by post-coding is unfair - the critical feature is actually floor height

• Insurance 'blacklisting' needs Government action NOW - Aug 2007 (click here)

• Yet another £10m ivory tower for the EA - June 2008 (click here)

• Changes required NOW at the Environment Agency - in culture, policy, structure and management.

• Independent department dedicated to flood defence needed NOW (Aug 2007)(click here)

• Changes in the law needed NOW - flood defence must be a 'DUTY' not just a 'responsibility'!

• 'Flood defence' must have priority over 'flood risk management'

• All 'Main Rivers' and flood defences should be identified as 'CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE'

• The Thames is just a drain (click here)

• Drains, watercourses and groundwater should be monitored locally (at Parish/Town Council level)

• Whatever happened to the EA's Thames Catchment Flood Management Plan? (click here)