Nearly one in ten of flood defences in South Holland are currently rated as ‘below the required condition’ new data has revealed.
Of the 599 flood defences in the district, 51 are classed by the Environment Agency (EA) as not up to its standards.
The figure of nine per cent of all defences needing work has been provided through the BBC shared data unit.
While the EA doesn’t own all of the defences, it owns most and is meant to oversee the rest.
Every single flood measure in South Holland is classed by the authority as a ‘high consequence’ defence’ meaning breaches bring a threat to households and businesses.
The figures will come as no surprise to many residents with breaches of the River Welland having caused significant issues for landowners last year, including damage to farmland.
The ten-month wait for repairs meant lower levels on the waterway with the Spalding Water Taxi being unable to run.
The average is higher than the national average of 8.6 per cent of the 98,466 flood defences in the UK being below the required standard.
The Environment Agency’s target is for just two per cent of its high consequence defences to be below target condition. The current figure is near nine per cent.
A Fens 2100+ project between LCC and the Environment Agency has been announced to improve flood defences locally.
Amy Shaw, the Environment Agency’s flood risk manager for the Fens, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “The cost is likely to be billions, not millions.
“The problem will be here before 2100 – within the next 10 or 15 years, we will need to have a clear direction.”
She said groups had to work around the clock, every single day of the year to protect to keep it drained, and the job was only getting harder.
“It’s our generation’s job to make these decisions for the next generation,” she said.
Most of the Fens’ pumping stations and sluices were built in the 1960s and are approaching the end of their lives, while some embankments are 100 years old.
Hypothetical studies run by the Environment Agency show low-lying parts of Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire could permanently be under 1.5 metres of water within years if pumping stopped.
Flooding expert professor Hannah Cloke said the figures in some areas were concerning.
She said, “All it would take would be a large storm to come through, or a series of storms that we’ve seen before, and then these assets would fail and there would be a massive problem.”
The Voice contacted the Lead Local Flood Authority (LFFA) for the area, which in this case is Lincolnshire County Council.
The authority had not responded at the time of going to press.
Floods minister Emma Hardy said of the national picture: “Flooding devastates communities, but this government’s preparations mean our towns and cities are better protected than last year.
“We inherited flood assets in their worst condition on record. Our immediate response was to redirect £108 million into maintenance and repair works.
“But this is just the start. We’re investing at least £10.5 billion – the largest programme ever – in flood defences until 2036.
“This will build new defences and repair assets across the country, protecting our communities for decades to come.”
