To receive the above verbal update.

Brianne Vally, Environment Agency (EA), started off by reporting on the catchment situation. She highlighted that her updates came in every Tuesday; therefore, the update was based on the receipt of information from Tuesday 4^th July 2023 and did not take into account the recent rainfall over the weekend.

 

As of Tuesday 4^th July 2023, Brianne Vally informed that the Thames catchment had received 3% of the average rainfall for July. Natural river flows had decreased at all sites compared to the week prior to 4^th July, with river flow at all sites (apart from one) being below the percentage of monthly mean for July.

 

Brianne Vally informed that if anyone wanted to find more information on the catchment situation, they could go onto the gov.uk website to find the catchment situation report.

 

Moving onto maintenance, Brianne Vally reported that there had been some maintenance activities around the Maidenhead, Windsor and Eton Flood Alleviation Scheme. Presenting the highlights, she informed that security fencing would be installed around Marsh Lane as well as navigation booms around various structures along the Jubilee River. There would also be some discrete work on some of the in-channel structures, starting with the Taplow area.

 

Brianne Vally stated that any queries or concerns related to these works could be emailed to her where she could direct the questions and concerns to the relevant team, or the generic enquires team.

 

Brianne Vally then thanked Eton Wick residents for reporting the recent flooding in the area. She then listed the actions taken from Environment Agency:

·       Contacted Slough Borough Council and requested for footpaths to be closed with appropriate signage until the flooding recedes,

·       Contacted the relevant riparian owners in the area to encourage good repair and ownership to ensure the water flowed freely and any blockages were removed accordingly,

·       Notified relevant local authorities about any potential impacts on local and surface water drainage,

·       Collaboration between Eton Town Council and Thames Water to jointly fund some weed clearance around Roundmoor Ditch and Boveney stream, in which it would start once fish spawning had passed,

·       One of EA’s catchment co-ordinators had been in contact with local Borough Councillors from Eton Wick and another meeting was being arranged.

 

Councillor D. Davies asked if there was an update on the installation of a new fence at Dorney Common. Brianne Vally replied that she was aware of there being discussions regarding this but was unaware of the result of this. She offered to take this away and forward a response from the relevant team.

 

Councillor Davies then asked when weed clearance would commence and whether it could start earlier. Brianne Vally was aware of some discussions regarding fish spawning season and weed clearance. She agreed to raise it with the Catchment Coordinator, Jeanette Wooster, and then forward an update to Councillor D. Davies.

 

ACTION: Brianne Vally to ensure that Councillor Devon Davies received updates on the installation of a new fence at Dorney Common and weed clearance around Roundmoor Ditch and Boveney stream.

 

Laura Regazzacci, Eton Wick Waterways Group (EWWG), informed that Eton Town Council was working with Eton College, who were the main landowners from the River Thames to Queens Road. According to Laura Regazzacci, they combined the costs to pay the contractors to clear the weeds which was cleared two weeks prior. She then stated that the main issue was fish spawning occurring every year which then contributed to flooding because the weed could not be cleared soon enough. She added that the issue needed to be resolved by Autumn 2023 so that EWWG and repairing landowners could make plans on weed clearance without disturbing fish spawning.

 

Laura Regazzacci then commented that residents had not received any communication from EA and asked for clarification on which riparian landowners EA had contacted.

 

Brianne Vally responded that EA had been mostly contacting riparian owners around Colenorton (north of Eton Wick) due to reports being received from this area. She mentioned that EA were aware of ongoing issues around the Roundmoor.

 

Councillor Coe asked whether the issue of flooding caused by weed blockage in Eton Wick could be automatically resolved instead of occurring every year and maintenance taking place only when floods happened, adding that this issue had been taking place for a long time.

 

Brianne Vally replied that EA was aware of recurrent issues around maintenance. She stated that Jeanette Wooster was intending to organise a meeting at the end of July 2023 (alongside a member of the Asset Performance Team) to give advice on a maintenance plan which would take into account weed clearance and fish spawning. She then informed that there was finite amount of finance for river maintenance activities and therefore EA needed to prioritize activities to protect lives and property in line with government policy. The position around Eton Wick was for EA to work and encourage landowners to maintain the rivers where it was not affordable for taxpayers to fund the maintenance work. She offered to investigate if there had been any changes to maintenance plans.

 

Councillor Coe then asked if enforcement action had gone beyond a polite reminder. Brianne Vally replied that she was not aware of but offered to investigate and forward an answer or inform him in the meeting at the end of July 2023.

 

ACTION: Brianne Vally to inform Councillor Coe on any update to water maintenance plans around Eton Wick.

 

The Chair requested for an action point for weed clearance around Eton to be revisited in the next meeting agenda in October 2023.

 

ACTION: Update on weed clearance around Eton in the next meeting agenda in October 2023.

 

Natasha Gibbs, Hertfordshire North London Environment Agency, informed that there was some seasonality whereby silt would build up during dry periods which would then encourage high vegetation growth. As there would be less river flow to wash this vegetation away, this increased the likelihood of blockage and flooding. From this, she stated, the maintenance of the previous year, which had to handle a drought, may not be suitable for the following year and therefore required reconsideration of the maintenance programme to respond to certain situations.

 

Councillor Davies asked if the footpath in Eton Wick could be reopened as, according to Laura Regazzacci, river water levels were at their lowest. Laura Regazzacci, while thanking Natasha Gibbs for her input, conveyed that rainfall had an impact where sewage treatment works had a greater amount of stormwater and thus causing the river in Eton Wick to be 99% sewage effluent. She added that the river at Eton Wick accumulated a lot of weed every year for the last 8 years due to the nutrients in the water from the sewage treatment works.

 

Natasha Gibbs responded that her experience may have reflected her area, Hertfordshire North London, more rather than Windsor and Maidenhead.

 

Laura Regazzacci then stated that it could no longer be tolerated to wait for river levels to increase every year and that action was needed. She requested for EA to take into account the full hydrology report in which EWWG, which contained the causes of flooding around Eton Wick, if they were investigating the river and considering future maintenance plans.

 

Laura Regazzacci was then critical of the idea of riparian residents being responsible in resolving blockage or flooding issues around the river as they had been affected by, for example, crumbling riverbanks, and paying money to mitigate flooding issues. She requested for residents to be included in any discussion to resolve the issue.

 

The Chair suggested that this issue should be discussed further with Councillors and officers and then resolved outside of the meeting.

ACTION: A meeting between EA officers, Laura Regazzacci and relevant Councillors on weed clearance and flooding at Eton Wick.

 

Brianne Vally then gave a presentation on the Datchet to Hythe End Flood Improvement Measures (DHEFIM), starting off by giving some background to DHEFIM for the new Flood Group members. As many communities between Datchet to Hythe End had been affected by several floods, DHEFIM was established after Channel Section One of the River Thames Scheme was no longer happening in the area. RBWM’s commitment of around £10 million was still ring-fenced to contribute to flood alternative works.

 

Brianne Vally informed that EA and RBWM continued to work in partnership to find solutions that work for communities and the environment. While it was not possible to protect or reduce flood risk against all eventuality, EA were determined to reduce the risk of flooding and help secure the necessary funding. Alongside DHEFIM, RBWM was investigating several short-term flood risk mitigation measures during development of the wider project.

 

Brianne Vally then displayed the EA Project Lifecycle, illustrating the stages of the project. Since July 2020, an initial assessment was conducted, concluding with a Strategic Outline Case being produced. Presently, Brianne Vally informed, the project was entering the Appraisal phase which would conclude with an Outline Business Case.

 

The Strategic Outline Case was signed-off in late-April 2023 and its key activities included:

·       Undertaking an initial screening of the long list of measures to identify which were most likely to meet the project critical success factors (e.g., value for money) and investment objectives.

·       Presented a successful case that there may be viable alternative options to reduce flood risk from Datchet to Hythe End which would be investigated further.

·       Entering the appraisal phase which concluded with the Outline Business Case, in which further screening of the options would be carried out during appraisal.

 

Brianne Vally then introduced Stuart Mollard, Environment Agency, who had become the project manager for DHEFIM, running it on a day-to-day basis, and would be giving updates on DHEFIM going forward.

 

Continuing her presentation, Brianne Vally informed that EA continued to work with Jacobs to produce the scope and activity schedule for the Outline Business Case, namely reviewing timescales to ensure they were realistic and achievable. The contract for the Outline Business Case was expected to be awarded in Summer 2023. Meanwhile, EA were progressing on critical activities with Jacobs, such as:

·       Gathering adequate evidence for the appraisal of options,

·       Funding and benefits, namely exploring additional contributions,

·       Communications and engagement.

 

Brianne Vally then stated that Jacobs were looking into reviewing the draft communications and engagement activity schedule which tied into more technical work. In the meantime, EA were preparing for the establishment of the External Stakeholder Group. In addition, EA were also strengthening its governance arrangements to ensure successful delivery of the Appraisal Phase as well as maintaining links with the River Thames Scheme.

 

The Chair suggested a meeting in the near future between Brianne Vally, Stuart Mollard, Ben Crampin and Councillors in Datchet, Horton and Wraysbury to discuss flooding from Datchet to Hythe End and move the project forward.

 

ACTION: A meeting between EA officers, Ben Crampin and Datchet, Horton and Wraysbury Councillors on the Datchet to Hythe End Flood Improvement Measures.

 

Brianne Vally concluded by informing that EA had successfully recruited Flood Resilience Engagement Advisors as part of the Flood Resilience Team. Mat Lloyd (from EA) would be running a small flood awareness event in Datchet on 3^rd August 2023 which sought to generate preparedness and ensuring that residents were aware of the risk. Brianne Vally mentioned that she would liaise with Emily Merritt, Emergency Planning Officer, on whether she wanted to get involved and support the event. The event would likely be in the afternoon.

 

Brianne Vally also encouraged residents to sign up to the flood warning service.

 

Stating that he was not aware of the flood awareness event in Datchet, the Chair suggested that EA needed to further work with local communities to ensure they were informed of events like this.