- Location
- Gosberton
I have heard a rumours that the river steeping breached due to badger activities does anyone know the truth?
Wainfleet flooding
- Thread starter Green grower
- Start date
Lincs Lass
Member
- Location
- north lincs
Dont think the EA would admit to it if that was the cause ,,they would weasel their way out with some other reason ,,unprecedented rain fall is all they keep saying
Absolutely NOT. It’s global warming
Princess Pooper
Member
- Location
- East Mids
There are certainly some locals kicking off on Twitter that this is so but I have no first hand information, also the local BBC reporter seems to have a document that refers to the problem.
Admittedly one of the main issues also appears to be the flood banks were so narrow they were inaccessible for heavy machinery for maintenance - looking at the aerial photos they are certainly not very broad. Plus claimed lack of dosh for maintenance (just for relocating stripeys).
Courier
Member
- Location
- M62 - M1 - M18 triangle
Steeping River
February 2016
Background
The Steeping River is located in east Lincolnshire and drains almost 200km2 of the Wolds around the villages
of Tetford, Spilsby, Partney and Wainfleet, before flowing out to sea at Gibraltar Point. Upstream of Great
Steeping village, the watercourse is known as the River Lymn and flows in a shallow valley with some low
defences in places, largely protecting arable land. Downstream of Great Steeping, the watercourse is known
as the Steeping River, which has been straightened and embanked as it flows towards Wainfleet over lowlying
agricultural land. At Thorpe Culvert, a flood relief channel was constructed in the early 1970s to take
high flows around Wainfleet town. This channel rejoins the Steeping River downstream of Wainfleet, and the
river outfalls to the sea at Clough House Sluice, adjacent to Gibraltar Point.
Widespread flooding occurred across the country in June 2007, and the Steeping catchment was no
exception. A number of localised low spots in the banks allowed water to overtop the defence, flooding land
and 10 houses in Wainfleet and Great Steeping. Following the floods, we have carried out various works to
reduce flood risk from the Steeping River, including raising the localised low spots in the banks, improving
the operation of sluice gates at the outfall and some removal of silt in the channel upstream of Wainfleet.
Wainfleet Relief Channel bank strengthening
In parallel to the catchment-wide investigations, the partnership is promoting a scheme to strengthen the
right hand (southern) bank along the Wainfleet Relief Channel. We have concerns over the integrity of this
bank and the risk of a breach which could flood significant areas. The current bank is too narrow for modern
machinery to safely work on, which is not only impacting on the maintenance of the bank, which has in turn
resulted in seepage and other problems, but also the relief channel itself, which then adds to the silt issue.
The works have an allocation in the RFCC-consented six-year programme of £1.3m for 2016/2017, with
£0.9m coming from Local Levy. A wide range of options are being considered, including various construction
techniques, to achieve an efficient and cost-effective design for a robust defence with improved access for
future maintenance. The design of the scheme is being fast-tracked at present, through a dedicated project
team and existing consultancy frameworks. At this stage there is no certainty the scheme can be justified
according to the current government rules. We are doing all that we can to secure necessary approvals.
Construction is likely to be phased over two years, with full completion in 2018.
Badgers
The Protection of Badgers Act 1992 makes it an offence to not only injure or kill a badger but also to disturb,
damage or obstruct an active sett.
We continue to carry out routine and reactive maintenance to the embankments, including repairing any
damage caused by badgers and rabbits. Badgers are a perpetual problem on the Steeping River and
Wainfleet relief channel, with several setts currently being filled in. We have obtained licenses from Natural
England for filling in some of the badger setts, although new ones are discovered regularly. Each sett can
have multiple holes in the bank. A sett at the downstream end of the relief channel - which has around 20
holes in the bank - has been isolated to prevent badgers using it for the required 21 days and has just been
declared inactive. Work will begin to fill the holes in the near future.
We are in discussion with Natural England to find a more sustainable method for dealing with the badgers,
while securing the integrity of the banks and safety of our workforce. As part of this we are planning the
construction of an artificial sett in a location which will not affect the integrity of the banks, with a view to
‘encouraging’ the badgers to use this instead of the banks.
February 2016
Background
The Steeping River is located in east Lincolnshire and drains almost 200km2 of the Wolds around the villages
of Tetford, Spilsby, Partney and Wainfleet, before flowing out to sea at Gibraltar Point. Upstream of Great
Steeping village, the watercourse is known as the River Lymn and flows in a shallow valley with some low
defences in places, largely protecting arable land. Downstream of Great Steeping, the watercourse is known
as the Steeping River, which has been straightened and embanked as it flows towards Wainfleet over lowlying
agricultural land. At Thorpe Culvert, a flood relief channel was constructed in the early 1970s to take
high flows around Wainfleet town. This channel rejoins the Steeping River downstream of Wainfleet, and the
river outfalls to the sea at Clough House Sluice, adjacent to Gibraltar Point.
Widespread flooding occurred across the country in June 2007, and the Steeping catchment was no
exception. A number of localised low spots in the banks allowed water to overtop the defence, flooding land
and 10 houses in Wainfleet and Great Steeping. Following the floods, we have carried out various works to
reduce flood risk from the Steeping River, including raising the localised low spots in the banks, improving
the operation of sluice gates at the outfall and some removal of silt in the channel upstream of Wainfleet.
Wainfleet Relief Channel bank strengthening
In parallel to the catchment-wide investigations, the partnership is promoting a scheme to strengthen the
right hand (southern) bank along the Wainfleet Relief Channel. We have concerns over the integrity of this
bank and the risk of a breach which could flood significant areas. The current bank is too narrow for modern
machinery to safely work on, which is not only impacting on the maintenance of the bank, which has in turn
resulted in seepage and other problems, but also the relief channel itself, which then adds to the silt issue.
The works have an allocation in the RFCC-consented six-year programme of £1.3m for 2016/2017, with
£0.9m coming from Local Levy. A wide range of options are being considered, including various construction
techniques, to achieve an efficient and cost-effective design for a robust defence with improved access for
future maintenance. The design of the scheme is being fast-tracked at present, through a dedicated project
team and existing consultancy frameworks. At this stage there is no certainty the scheme can be justified
according to the current government rules. We are doing all that we can to secure necessary approvals.
Construction is likely to be phased over two years, with full completion in 2018.
Badgers
The Protection of Badgers Act 1992 makes it an offence to not only injure or kill a badger but also to disturb,
damage or obstruct an active sett.
We continue to carry out routine and reactive maintenance to the embankments, including repairing any
damage caused by badgers and rabbits. Badgers are a perpetual problem on the Steeping River and
Wainfleet relief channel, with several setts currently being filled in. We have obtained licenses from Natural
England for filling in some of the badger setts, although new ones are discovered regularly. Each sett can
have multiple holes in the bank. A sett at the downstream end of the relief channel - which has around 20
holes in the bank - has been isolated to prevent badgers using it for the required 21 days and has just been
declared inactive. Work will begin to fill the holes in the near future.
We are in discussion with Natural England to find a more sustainable method for dealing with the badgers,
while securing the integrity of the banks and safety of our workforce. As part of this we are planning the
construction of an artificial sett in a location which will not affect the integrity of the banks, with a view to
‘encouraging’ the badgers to use this instead of the banks.
Lincs Lass
Member
- Location
- north lincs
Look on google earth at the amount of bridges over the river ,,they all narrow the channel to less than half of the main flow ,it hasnt helped that all the water in the river has to be pumped out ,its not free running and the pumps failed rather inconveniently
76masseyman
Member
- Location
- Lincolncestershire
I think badger sets were a big contribution to the breech of the sea wall in 2013. There was an exceptional high tide, and a good few acres out that way were flooded.
Certainly seems plausible this time.
Certainly seems plausible this time.
Lincs Lass
Member
- Location
- north lincs
Eveybody used to say Batemans beer at Wainfleet tasted wishy washy ,,recon it will now
- Location
- North West England
I am sure it is the same location the EA spent a few years ago something like £330k! Building an artificial badger sett and repairing the damage the set in the river bank had caused.
Money for fecking about with striped vermin, but not money for dredging, weed clearing or maintaining the river properly.
Money for fecking about with striped vermin, but not money for dredging, weed clearing or maintaining the river properly.
yellow belly
Member
- Location
- south west lincolnshire
Badger may have drowned
- Location
- East Sussex
Bet they haven’t.
matthew
Member
- Location
- Cornwall, SW England
Not the mail, but the DT and web:
https://theworldnews.net/uk-news/bu...looding-that-forced-hundreds-from-their-homes
So, badgers making the banks like honeycomb, and .EA neglect of dredging and sluice gates?
We ‘ve been here before.
Every where the ea are in charge is the same,the only way to resolve it is to make them liable for the damages that there mismanagement does,it’s about time the insurance company started to take them to court to claim the money back because non of their excuses would stand up to a court of law.
- Location
- Hampshire
Not sure 'elf n safety would approve of driverless tractors, or is that the norm?
- Tags
- bateman
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