To receive any apologies for absence.

The Chair, Councillor Buckley, welcomed everyone to meeting and attendees introduced themselves.

The Chair requested for a review of the list of attendees, to which Laurence Ellis, Democratic Services Officer (clerk), responded that he would investigate.

ACTION: Laurence Ellis to review the email and attendee list for Flood Liaison Group.

Apologies for absence were received from Duncan Parker.

To confirm the minutes of the previous meeting.

Councillor Larcombe raised that an action in the minutes from the previous meeting inaccurately stated Ben Crampin was to “ensure that Councillor Larcombe was included in Thames Regional Flood and Coastal Committee (RFCC) meetings,” stating that he was already a member of the RFCC, and that this discussion was in reference to the county partnership meetings. He also highlighted that this action had been left off the action list.

AGREED UNANIMOUSLY: That the minutes of the meeting held on 11^th October 2023 were a true and accurate record providing the amendments were made.

To confirm the actions from the previous minutes.

To receive the verbal updates from Environment Agency (EA) officers, Brianne Vally, Stuart Mollard and Natasha Gibbs.

Stuart Mollard, Project Manager for the DHEFIM (EA), presented an update on the Datchet to Hythe End Flood Improvement Measures (DHEFIM). He informed that the DHEFIM was in its Appraisal Stage (January to June 2024), which was split into four key elements, encompassing the next couple of years. The Project Definition (Summer to Autumn 2023) had been completed and the Environment Agency (EA) was in the Optioneering Stage (Autumn 2023 to Spring 2024).

Stuart Mollard also provided the project’s progress in the last three months:

·       Project objectives had been updated and the study area had been confirmed,

·       Public engagement events took place in Wraysbury and Datchet in November 2023.

·       Some potential funding partners had been identified who may be potential beneficiaries to the scheme. This would also be linked to the developing engagement plan.

·       Some technical work had also taken place in the last three to six months, which then fed into the Appraisal Stage. These included:

o   Groundwater and surface water flood risk.

o   Desk studies on geo-technical and geo-environmental aspects.

o   Examined the scheme within the context of land use planning,

o   Examined aquifer recharge feasibility,

·       Developed some additional ground investigation proposals, namely investigate what information was available from previous investigations in the area and identifying some gaps.

·       Continued discussion to ensure that EA flood modelling was proportionate and adequate for what it was being used for.

The intended end result of the Appraisal Stage was to create a draft short list of options which would then be shared. At the moment, the EA had a long list of potential measures which they would filter out the non-feasible measures. The filtered list would then be subjected to a detailed assessment and modelling whereby each optional measure would be assessed against the project objectives and the criteria of fitting within a capital expenditure program. The end result would be a shortlist of potential optional measures.

Once the shortlist was near completion, the EA would engage with stakeholder groups and local communities by sharing the proposals and then acquire feedback from them before finalising a list of potential measures before forwarding this list.

In regard to the work surrounding the stakeholder engagement, Stuart Mollard informed that it was important to keep the public informed as well as consulted and involved throughout the process, which was the reasoning behind the public engagement events in Wraysbury and Datchet in November 2023. Alongside these public events, a new project website was created which provided material and updates of the key stages.

Stuart Mollard also informed that the EA would conduct a major consultation exercise in the summer of 2023 on the shortlist of potential measures in which it would then be finalised based on the feedback. Another consultation on the list of preferred optional measures would take place in summer 2025.

Stuart Mollard then announced that he sought to set up a group whereby the EA could liaise with the local community, under the working title of ‘Community Liaison Group’. After asking  ...  view the full minutes text for item 235.

To receive a verbal update from David Harding, Thames Water.

David Harding, Customer and Stakeholder Manager for Home Counties (Thames Water), briefly explained the flooding event of January 2024 from the perspective of Thames Water, stating that Thames Water experienced the same conditions described by the EA.

David Harding reported that the flooding event affected sewage assets in some communities, particularly in Wraysbury. Alongside private drainage which used gravity, the public sewage systems in many of these areas consisted of ‘vacuum sewage systems’, which used chambers and sealed pipes to dispose of human waste through suction. This was partly because the area had a flat topography (where sewage would not gravitate easily) as well as generally having elevated below ground water as a result of saturated river gravels. He stated that he received reports from residents from the Wraysbury area that sewage was leaking out into the flood waters, and then conveyed that as they these sewage systems were below ground, they would be affected if the ground was underwater whereby sewage waste would likely mix in with flood water.

David Harding then informed that Thames Water deployed 340 tankers during the flooding event to vacuum sewage areas across the catchment to pump out the collection chambers to maintain sewage system; however, this was unable to occur in areas with high flood depths as either the tankers would create little difference or were inaccessible.

Thames Water received feedback from the EA and RBWM that there were a lot of reports of issues, and thus would liaise with them on prioritising and coordinating clean ups.

Regarding an earlier question on the Ofwat (Water Services Regulation Authority) price determination, David Harding informed that they would issue a draft determination in May/June 2024, which would then be reviewed by Thames Water. From there, Ofwat would issue a final determination in December 2024.

Parish Councillor Mandy Brar (Cookham PC) asked what happened to Thames Water’s pumping station in Lightlands Lane, Cookham during the recent flooding event despite being sent warnings 8 years prior, stating it was not safe and that it would build up again. She also highlighted that some residents still had sewage in their gardens which had not been cleared up. David Harding replied that he was not part of the conversations from 8 years ago; nevertheless, he informed that Thames Water operatives did not visit the pumping station until flood waters receded because there was an SSE sub-station nearby which was flooded as well, and therefore did not visit due to concerns of high voltage of electricity being mixed with water.

Regarding sewage in resident gardens, David Harding asked whether this was caused by a spilt sewage system or due to properties being under contaminated flood water. Parish Councillor Mandy Brar replied that it came from the Thames Water pumping station, whereby it packed up and spilled over sewage water into resident gardens as far across the road.

The Chair suggested to arrange a meeting of all flood agencies (EA, Thames Water etc.) with the Parish Councils to discuss local flooding  ...  view the full minutes text for item 236.

To receive verbal updates from Ben Crampin, RBWM Flood Risk Manager, and Emily Merritt, Emergency Planning Officer.

Ben Crampin, RBWM Principal Flood Risk Manager, and Emily Merritt, Emergency

Planning Officer, both presented an update from RBWM: the latter focused on the flooding response from RBWM while the former focused on the recovery stage.

Emily Merritt first explained the timeline of the flooding response from Thames Valley Local Resilience Forum (TVLRF) and RBWM’s internal response:

·       2^nd January 2024: TVLRF activated a partner activation teleconference (PAT) for the likely impact of Storm Henk.

·       3^rd January 2024: RBWM held its first flood coordination meeting in preparation of Storm Henk and forecasted rainfall.

·       5^th January 2024: TVLRF activated a tactical coordinating group (TCG) and a strategic coordinating group (SCG). Following from updates from the TCG and SCG as well as the north Thames Valley catchment in Oxfordshire and West Berkshire being impacted by the storm, RBWM enacted their virtual Flood Coordination Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) to support the response.

·       From 5^th January 2024 onwards: TVLRF were holding twice daily TCG and SCG meetings and a major incident was declared for Thames Valley due to impact being seen across Oxfordshire and West Berkshire. RBWM continued to hold virtual internal coordination meetings over the weekend to support the response which involved come critical decisions.

·       The Cookham Causeway Plan on standby on 6^th January and then activated on 7^th January 2024. An overnight virtual EOC meeting took place during the night of 6^th and 7^th January 2024 to manage flood warnings.

·       8^th January 2024: An in-person EOC meeting as well as several other multi-agency meetings were held concerning the flooding impact in Wraysbury and Old Windsor. Later on, Emergency Services were invited to join the EOC to form a Tactical Coordination Centre (TCC). At night, a multi-agency tactical coordinating group developed evacuation plans for Wraysbury. Furthermore, a multi-agency SCG was held for Wraysbury alongside a Rest Centre being set up at Windsor Leisure Centre for potential evacuations. Alongside this RBWM carried out preparation ahead for any potential evacuations.

·       9^th January 2024: In the early morning, the evacuation process began with vulnerable residents alongside an uptick in 999 calls being received by the Fire Service.

·       12^th January 2024: The Cookham Causeway was closed in light of the receding flood waters. EOC meetings came to an end while the TVLRF command and control structure stood down on 11^th January 2024.

·       15^th January 2024: The first meeting on the recovery process for RBWM took place.

Emily Merritt informed that there was regular communications and updates with parish councils and flood wardens during the flooding response. She added that a multi-agency debrief as well as an RBWM internal debrief were taking place. In addition, another debrief with Parish Councils and flood wardens was set to take place to reflect on the events and the response measures.

Before covering the Recovery stage, Ben Crampin informed that known areas impacted by flooding from River Thames and groundwater were most prominently Hurley, Bisham, Cookham, Wraysbury and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 237.

To receive any verbal updates from Parish Councillors.

Councillor Larcombe conveyed that it was the fourth time that his friends, family and constituents were flooded and critically commented that the same process was being followed. Referring to the Section 19 investigation, he requested for the Section 19 investigation report from the 2014 flooding event to be circulated. Councillor Larcombe announced that he would advocate for the reintroduction of dredging of the River Thames as recommended Mechanisms of Flooding Report from Clive Onions, stating that the River Thames no longer had capacity due to the riverbed having risen. He also critically pointed out that building a new flood alleviation scheme would cost millions of pounds as well as take many years to establish.

ACTION:  The Section 19 investigation report from the 2014 flooding event to be circulated amongst Flood Group attendees.

The Chair requested for dredging to be added for discussion at the next meeting.

ACTION: Dredging to be discussed at the next Flood Group meeting.

Speaking for Wraysbury, Parish Councillor Andrew Spillane raised that around 10 properties in Wraysbury had been breached with many more experiencing power outages and contamination from spilled sewage. He asked if there was any clarity on the criteria to receive government funding for being affected by flooding.

Parish Councillor Andrew Spillane mentioned that Thames Water’s response had been good in regard to trucks and engineers at Wraysbury’s pumping stations nearly every day, crediting David Harding. With that said, he requested further potential support with the clear up, such as using fly-tipping trucks to help clear items which they lost in the flooding (e.g., fridge freezer or furniture in their garages), adding that Wraysbury Parish Council could help with that.

Speaking for Hurley, Parish Councillor David Burfitt expressed that EA and RBWM gave great support to Hurley during the flooding event, stating that the EA help line was helpful as well as regularly receiving reports from RBWM.

Parish Councillor David Burfitt then raised a couple of points. He raised that there was a motorboat stuck on the protective polls at the weir in Hurley for a fortnight. He also asked if there was an update on Temple Footbridge.

Concerning the stuck motorboat at Hurley weir, the Chair informed that it was not in the Flood Group’s remit but speculated that the EA would be working on this in the background if the lock keeper and nearby residents had reported it to them.

In regard to Temple Footbridge, Brianne Vally stated that this was discussed at Flood Group previously and had no further update form what was previously circulated. When the Chair asked Parish Councillor David Burfitt if he had access to the previous correspondence on this, to which he replied that he believed he had. She also shared a weblink on an update on the Temple Footbridge from Gov.uk in the Zoom chat.

Speaking for Datchet, Parish Councillor Ian Thompson raised some critical points in regard to flooding defence in Datchet. He first raised that there was a discussion and presentation from the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 238.