The animation studio behind Wallace & Gromit will produce a short educational film on the dangers of flooding for Lincolnshire County Council.
Aardman Animations will create a two-minute video called A Mole’s Story to warn about groundwater flooding, writes Local Democracy Reporter Jamie Waller.
The total cost will be £130,000, of which the county council will pay £54,000, with other councils contributing the rest.
It is being produced as part of Project Groundwater, a government-funded scheme to protect areas most at risk of this type of flooding.
Aardman Animations is the award-winning creator behind the Wallace & Gromit films, Shaun the Sheep, Chicken Run and Morph.
It has previously produced a short film on protecting homes from flooding, Missy’s Tale, which can be seen on the BeFloodReady website.
Groundwater flooding occurs when the earth becomes saturated with water and can’t drain rain away quickly enough, such as during Storm Babet in 2023.
Lincolnshire received £7m for Project Groundwater from the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs in 2023.
The county council is also helping to update the Multi-Coloured Manual, one of the key documents for flood risk management.
Coun Colin Davie, executive member for environment at Lincolnshire County Council, previously said: “Groundwater flooding is the least-understood form of flooding nationally.
“This is demonstrated by the fact that its effects are not yet included in comprehensive, high-level documents like the Multi-Coloured Manual.
“This is a fantastic opportunity to correct that omission, and better understand how much groundwater flooding costs us all when it damages our homes, businesses, agricultural land, and roads.
“The effects of groundwater are significantly different to flooding from rivers, coastal or surface water flooding. It often lasts for much longer periods, with water seeping up, and the full extent of the impacts can take a long time to become apparent.”
The manual is produced by the Flood Hazard Research Centre at Middlesex University.
