Agenda item

Environment Agency - Update on Flooding

To receive an update on flooding from Paul Desmond, Flood and Coastal Risk Management Officer, from the Environment Agency.

Minutes:

In attendance at the meeting was Paul Desmond, Lower Aire Catchment Lead for the Environment Agency (EA). The Board asked a number of questions and discussed various issues, as detailed below:

 

·           It was confirmed that the repairs to the rust hole in the sluice gate at The Cut in Fairburn had been completed. The Board noted that the flood season had been quite late around Easter and as such the EA had needed to wait for the water levels to go down before doing the repairs. The sluice gate was controlled by the EA and was used for overspill from the River Aire.

 

·           There was some concern amongst Board members about St Aidan’s Nature Reserve being able to keep the surrounding local area flood free, now that the inlet had been lowered. Paul explained that as a previous mine site it had been reclaimed as part of a flood alleviation scheme; the spillway had been put in to take overspill from the River Aire and acted as storage for larger flooding events. During the winter 2015 floods St Aidan’s had come into play when the water levels rose rapidly.

 

·           The Board explained that the A656 Barnsdale Road was often flooded and blocked by water, even as a result of heavy rain. This was causing concern because the flooding eventually ended up in Fairburn and Brotherton. Paul acknowledged that the A656 was a critical route, and that raising of the level of the road would be very expensive and not a viable option. The Board agreed that there may be issues with highways drainage that should be investigated. There were also subsidence issues in the area, and whether the road flooded often depended on the water levels in the nearby beck.

 

·           The Board were pleased to note that there had been more repairs at The Cut in Fairburn, including the replacement of sealant. Paul explained that the structure at Fairburn was almost at the end of its usable life, and as such the EA were considering what could replace it. Ideally a replacement would be a passive structure that did not require manual operation. It was explained to the Board that there was legislation and guidance in place that stated that any work undertaken on flooding defences could not increase the flood risk to other people downstream, therefore any new structure could not cause issues for others further down the river. The sluice gate at The Cut was controlled by the EA from their offices; wiring had been put in for electronic controls but this was stolen a week after it had been installed. Currently there were fuel tanks at The Cut that required filling on a regular basis in order for the sluice gate to operate.

 

·           The condition of the flood flaps at Low Street in Brotherton for Marsh Croft were queried by the Board, as it had been reported that there was a tree trunk stuck in one. Paul confirmed that he was not aware of any issues with these flaps and they were in good working order as far as he was aware; if there were problems, the EA would have a record of this. However, Paul confirmed that they would check them to make sure. The Board advised that a representative from Brotherton Parish Council should accompany Paul during the checks.

 

·           The Board asked for more feedback on the Flood Alleviation Scheme (FAS) at Leeds. Paul explained that there were regular email updates available and that he would sign the CEF up for these updates via the Democratic Services Officer, who would then send them onto the Board, Western CEF Parish Councils and the Western CEF mailing list.

 

·           The Board queried if there were any plans for tree planting further upstream, i.e. at Skipton, to alleviate flooding in the future. Paul explained that this was being considered. However, the Board acknowledged that planting and the effect of trees on flooding was not an exact science; it could have an effect on lower scale flood events, but on larger scale events, such as those in 2015, the effect would be negligible. In order to significantly reduce the severity of a ‘once in a lifetime’ flooding event, it was estimated that around 4 million trees would need to be planted in order to have an effect. The Board also asked about the removal of trees; Paul explained that trees were sometimes removed to improve the structural integrity of embankments; if trees slipped and fell, it could make flooding worse by destabilising the banks. Reeds and grasses were better than trees for strengthening embankments as they had strong roots.

 

·           The Board also asked who they should contact if serious flooding such as that experienced in 2015 happened again. Paul informed the Board that there was an emergency incident hotline, details of which he would make available to the Board through the Democratic Services Officer. He would also ask the EA’s Flood Resilience Team if they had additional information that could be circulated to the Board and from there onto local Parish Councils and residents.

 

·           The Board asked the Democratic Services Officer to contact Paul in the future to ask for flooding updates that could be given at Board meetings. Paul informed the Board that the maintenance schedules and up to date information on the EA managed flood defences was available online; the link to the website would be sent to the Democratic Services Officer to circulate. The Board agreed that residents should be encouraged to sign up to flooding alerts issued by the EA, and that flooding information or updates discussed at Board meetings should be uploaded onto the Western CEF section on the Council’s website.

 

RESOLVED:

i)       To ask the Environment Agency to check on the conditions of the flood flaps at Low Street in Brotherton for Marsh Croft, preferably with a representative from Brotherton Parish Council also present.

 

ii)      To ask the Environment Agency to sign the Partnership Board up to Leeds FAS updates, via the Democratic Services Officer, who would then circulate these on to the Board, Western Parish Councils and the Western CEF mailing list.

 

iii)    To ask the Environment Agency to send details of the emergency flooding incident hotline and maintenance schedule website to the Democratic Services Officer for circulation to the Board.

 

iv)    To ask the Environment Agency to enquire with the Flood Resilience Team if they had additional information that could be circulated to the Democratic Services Officer, the Board, Parish Councils and the Western CEF mailing list.

 

v)     To ask the Democratic Services Officer to contact the Environment Agency to ask for flooding updates that could be given at future Board meetings.

 

vi)    To ask the Board to encourage local residents to sign up to flooding alerts and updates issues by the Environment Agency.

 

vii)   To ask the Democratic Services Officer to upload flooding information or updates discussed at Board meetings to the Western CEF section on the Council’s website.