Blueprint for Water: ‘Potentially environmentally-damaging dredging must not be prioritized over other proven flood-prevention measures in this year’s Autumn Statement on 3 December 2014 is the warning to Government by Blueprint for Water.
In a new report Dredging up Trouble, 10 of the Blueprint for Water partners– a coalition of organisations, representing over two million members [note 1] – are highlighting the importance of other options being properly considered.
Dredging Up Trouble identifies 10 priority areas which would inevitably lose out if new funding is ring-fenced for dredging alone. These include protecting life and public health, natural flood management options and sustainable drainage systems [note 2].
Alastair Moseley, Honorary Vice President, The Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM), said: “Last winter’s floods were not exceptional and will happen again. We must be prepared for these events and ensure that funding and appropriate flood risk management approaches are put in place. The government must understand that this extends way beyond dredging and needs to encompass resilience, sustainable land use and other measures which are tried, tested and supported by evidence.”
The report’s authors emphasise that failure to consider all options will be in breach of Defra’s own rules which ensure that the Environment Agency targets its limited budget to areas where the benefit to communities is greatest. Recent studies have shown that dredging can, in some cases, make downstream flooding worse by moving water too quickly down river catchments.
The report can be downloaded here
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