Even though the sun has been shining ( at times) and its the middle of summer, now is the best time to talk about flooding and take action to prepare for winter and the risk that heavy rain and rising river levels may again bring to the constituency. Unfortunately all efforts to encourage the Environment Agency put resource into maintaining and dredging our rivers, or enforcing riparian ownership to keep our small waterways clear of obstruction continue to fall on deaf ears.
I did however meet with the Flooding Minister, Emma Hardy MP, before Parliament rose for the summer, to highlight not only my concerns over the Environment Agency’s continued failure to manage and protect our waterways, but also to seek her support in my campaign for local flood control centres.
We need better management of our waterways, and we need greater protection from flooding, through the long awaited River Thames Scheme. But we also need improvements in how we respond to flooding when it does occur.
During flooding events in recent years residents received little to no communication from the Environment Agency, were passed between the EA, borough council, county council, Thames Water, Affinity Water, the police and other agencies, depending on the specific nature of the flooding issue – what we need is clear communication, a single contact point for all queries and concerns, and a co-ordinated response to any event, not just those declared as major incidents.
The Minister was concerned to hear of our previous experiences and agreed to support efforts for improvements locally. The Government is currently working on plans for pilot schemes for similar co-ordinated response teams, and has promised to provide further information and continue to work with me to support local residents.
