KESWICK FLOOD ACTION GROUP
NEWS and ACTIVITIES
I
NDEX Page - 02
INDEX PAGE - 02
14-06-2023
Gravel deposites. River Greta Fitze Park to Greta Bridge. EA to clear during October.
21-09-2023
KESWICK COMMUNITY RECOVERY
PARTNERSHIP
More
volunteers
to
help
out
in
various
roles
from
providing
catering
to
knocking
on
doors/helping
residents with flood gates etc.
CONTACT: Claire
keswickfloodrecovery@gmail.com
Phone on 07841678767
26-09-2023
Thank
you
to
United
Utilities
for
starting
the
additional
releases
(aka
the
"KFAG
releases")
to
try
to
give
us
a
bit
of
storm
space.
For
August
through
to
end
of
November
this
extra
flow
kicks
in
when
the
reservoir
is
within
3
metres
of
the
spillway
so
UU
have
done
it
in
good
time.
You
can
see the effect it has on St Johns Beck here:
Click graphic on right to OPEN.
16-11-2024 NEWS from Environment Agency 1
National News ( The Telegraph ) 15-11-2023
“More than 200,000 homes in danger as money runs
out to fix flood defences Shortfall of £34m means
thousands of properties have been left at greater risk,
says National Audit Office”
Link to article is here
16-11-2024 NEWS from Environment Agency 2
National News ( The Guardian ) 15-11-2023
Flood protection plans for English homes cut by 40%
Quarter of new flood defence projects will also not go ahead, NAO finds, as Environment Agency blames cuts on
inflation
Link to article is here
Gravel R Greta downstream 17-10-2023
Gravel R Greta upstream 17-10-2023
17-10-2023
River
Greta
after
Gravel
Removal
by
EA.
Left
pic
downstream
to
Bridge,
Right
pic
upstream
to
Park.
Taken
opposite the Pencil Factory.
15-11-2023
NAO Press Release: Resilience to flooding
The
Environment
Agency
(EA)
has
cut
its
forecast
for
the
number
of
additional
properties
that
will
be
better
protected
from
flooding
by
40%
since
plans
were
first
unveiled
in
2020, according to a new report by the National Audit Office. EA estimates that inflation accounts for between a half and two-thirds of this reduction.
Resilience
to
flooding
sets
out
that
EA
has
reduced
its
forecast
of
the
number
of
properties
it
will
be
able
to
better
protect
by
2027
from
336,000
to
200,000,
a
reduction
of
40
per
cent.
In
addition,
EA
is
removing
500
of
the
2,000
new
flood
defence
projects
that
were
originally
included
in
the
programme.
This
is
despite
government
doubling
its
capital funding in England in the six years to 2027 to £5.2 billion to combat the danger of flooding.
Full article is
here
05/12/2023
Letter sent to the I and the Guardian by Lynne Jones MBE
In
the
decades
to
come
water
will
be
an
increasingly
vital
resource.
Nationally
we
will
need
to
be
able
to
efficiently
transfer
water
from
water
rich
areas
to
those
experiencing
drought
AND
manage
the
water
storage
infrastructure
in
such
a
way
that
it
does
not
create
a
flood
risk
for
communities
downstream
of
reservoirs.
Should
we
be
relying
on
these
greedy,
dishonest
water
companies
to
prepare
for
that
challenge
with
their
background
of
using
any
wriggle
room,
that
loosely
worded
legislation
offers
them,
to
get
permission
to
charge
their
customers
more and more, whilst shareholder profits and director's salaries go on unchallenged and unquestioned?
FULL
t
ext is here
05-12-2023 E A and United Utilities
Raw Sewage reporting at Windemere World Heritage
Site.
BBC News / Panorama Dec 4 2023.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-
67567323?xtor=ES-208-
[67188_NEWS_NLB_DEF_WK49_MON_4_DEC]-
20231204-
[bbcnews_investigationwaterpollution_newsscienceand
environment]
13-01-2024
COMMENT:
See
any
similarity,
Lives
severely
impacted,
financial
loss,
mental
health
affected.
Defra
,
Government
Departments/
(Levelling
up,
Communities and Housing ) could be likened to the PO. They are the equivalent body for Flood victims ?
How
many
communities
have
been
denied
Flood
defences,
or
are
waiting
for
Flood
defences
to
be
installed
?
Or
can
longer
get
any
insurance
or
sell
their
houses.
Or
didn’t
received any Government help when they were flooded, because there wasn’t enough Flood Victims, to meet the EA cost/ benefit criteria, for obtaining help.
There were 16,000 houses flooded in 2015, but there have been many storms since.
The
misery
and
stress
that
floods
induce,
is
incalculable.
I
wish
a
film
maker
would
come
and
make
a
film
of
what
happened
to
my
village.
We
tried
to
sue
the
EA
but
it
was
hopeless.
In
the
recent
round
of
honours,
the
Deputy
Director
of
the
EA
Kate
Marks,
received
a
gong
for
services
to
the
Environment.
Despite
the
situation
regarding
Sewerage
and
lack of help and flood defences for Floodies.
Siriol Hogg
17-01-2024
Environment Agency and Fujitsu
According
to
the
New
Civil
Engineer
(12
Jan
2024)
“The
Environment
Agency
has
defended
its
decision
to
continue
its
flood
alert
warning
contract
worth
£19.5M
to
tarnished
Japanese
software
company
Fujitsu,
despite
its
involvement in the Horizon Post Office scandal.”
1
8-01-2024 UK Parliament [ Committees ]
Flood resilience eroded by poorly maintained defences with Government in the dark on progress.
Number of protected properties could continue to dwindle from current levels of at least 40% fewer than planned
Committee concerned at development continuing in areas of clear flood risk.
10-09-2023
Gravel removal by EA. River Greta Fitze Park to Greta Bridge
17-09-2023
EA on the Job … Parked up for Sunday break at the Pencil Museum car park.
KESWICK FLOOD ACTION GROUP
NEWS AND ACTIONS
I
NDEX Page - 02
03-09-2024 UK to receive earlier flood and drought warnings using
high-tech sensors and real time monitoring Researchers across the
UK to use latest tech and major data bank to provide better flood
and drought warnings.
From: Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, Department
for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, UK Research and Innovation and
The Rt Hon Peter Kyle MP
Published 31 August 2024
Researchers across the UK to use latest tech and major data bank to
better predict where devastating floods and droughts will strike
innovators will also pioneer new ways of tackling the worst of extreme
weather to halt damage and cut eye-watering cost to the economy
sensors in UK rivers and real time monitoring will gather priceless data
that goes towards modelling the potential impact and likely flashpoints
0
6-0
8-2024
Flood
planning
gaps
could
put
'lives
at
risk'
Credit
BBC
Radio Cumbria, BBC Look North 06-08-2024
People's
homes,
and
even
their
lives,
could
be
at
risk
because
of
gaps
in
the
emergency
response
to
severe
weather,
communities
have
warned.
Cumbria
was
left
devastated
after
Storm
Desmond
in
2015
and
has
been
inundated
by
flood
water
on
numerous
other
occasions.
Community
volunteers
said
the
overhaul
of
local
councils
in
Cumbria
had
left
gaps
in
the
system.
The
local
authorities
tasked
with
responding
to
such
emergencies
insisted
they
were
working
hard
to
make
sure
people
had
the information and support they needed.
KESWICK
Claire
Peat,
project
manager
for
Keswick
Community
Emergency
Recovery
Partnership,
described
a
near
miss
where
floodgates
which
should
have
been
shut
during
heavy
rain
remained
open.
She
said
when
Storm
Isha
hit
in
January,
she
asked
the
EA
to
close
the
floodgates
as
water
rose
in
the
river.
"I
was
told
that
unfortunately,
because
they’ve
got
limited
operational
staff,
their
ops
team
were
already
out
and
deployed
in
Appleby,
dealing
with
existing
flooding,"
Ms
Peat
said.
The
fire
and
rescue
service
held
another
set
of
keys
for
the
gates
as
a
"plan
B",
but
the
brigade’s
crews
were
also
deployed
elsewhere,
she
added.
Luckily
on
that
occasion,
homes
in
Keswick
were
"spared
by
the
fact the weather decided to stop raining," she said.
CARLISLE
Luis
Eckersley,
the
vice-chair
of
Carlisle
Flood
Action
Group,
said
he
did
not
have
as
comprehensive
access
to
information
about
flood
response
plans,
such
as
where
people
should
go
when
evacuated,
as
he
used to.
KENDAL
Community
volunteers
in
Kendal
warned
the
recent
overhaul
of
local
councils
in
Cumbria
had
created
problems
around
flood
planning.The
old
two-tier
system,
which
included
a
county
council
and
six
district councils, was replaced by two unitary authorities in 2023.
10-07-2024 Cumberland Council Updated - Upper Borrowdale Valley
Monitoring
Network
nowInstalled
and
waiting
for
Satelite
connection.
Live
The
data
will
be
available
via
a
web
platform
and
will
also
be
displayed
on
an
outward
facing
screen
at
Rossthwaite
Village
Institute.
Local
Community user testing welcomed after initial set up.
04-06-2024 National Flood Forum
Newsletter August 2024
30-05-2024 Cumberland Council Update - Upper Borrowdale Valley
Section 19 Flood Investigation Report for Flood Event 30 September 2022
Final Version Approved July 2023
23-05-2024 Met Office Press Office 22-05-24
Climate change drives increase in storm rainfall
A new study has found climate change has influenced how much rain falls
during autumn and winter storms.
22-05-2024 EA Data Map ‘Hydrology Explorer’
This is a data portal enabling you to access live and historic hydrometric
and water quality data from the EA.
Link to DATA MAPS page 23-05-2024
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