We are urgently developing research requirements with other European laboratories to make sure we understand and the disease (Schmallenberg) better.Regional drainage plans could increase flood risk
GOVERNMENT plans to regionalise water management could increase the risk of lowland flooding, experts have warned.
The CLA and Association of Drainage Authorities said the proposal, in the draft Flood and Water Management Bill, would ignore local knowledge that has been used to protect 1.2 million hectares of lowland England for generations.
The proposal, which calls for the Internal Drainage Boards (IDBs) to be regionalised, would move decision making away from those that are most familiar with the land, they argue.
“Can a regional body, operating over a large area, sited far away from many of the catchments for which it is responsible and whose members cannot possibly keep abreast with all that is happening within all those remote catchments, really be as effective as the present boards?” asked Henry Cator, national chairman of the Association of Drainage Authorities and CLA member.
“IDBs have a long track record of success. Very rarely has there been property flooding as a result of failure in the drainage infrastructure they operate. Why is this? The reason is simple – the risk is managed by those of us who, like me, live in and know well these areas of special priority,” he said.
In its response to the Bill, the CLA has emphasised the merits of IDBs and made it clear to the Government that in an attempt to improve flood risk management, it should not to lose sight of all that is good, but rather build on a proven model that has stood the test of time.
The Bill is currently undergoing pre-legislative scrutiny before being put before MPs later in the year.
