High Water Levels in the Witham Constituency
I am aware that local people are concerned about the high-water levels we are experiencing in Witham at the present time. As a result, I have been liaising with the Environment Agency over the past weekend to ensure that they are fully aware of the situation and are closely monitoring it.
Following discussions with the Environment Agency regarding the River Blackwater at Kelvedon, a patrol was deployed to check the status of the river. No obvious blockages or impedance were found and the river was flowing well through Kelvedon, but the levels were indeed high.
Looking at the river gauges early indications are that the river levels appear to be stabilising, although they will remain high and responsive to further rainfall for some time.
I am however pleased to report that by Monday, the Environment Agency advised that due to the river levels falling in the last 24 hourst, they have removed the Flood Alert for the River Blackwater, and the Flood Warning for the River Brain. We do have some further rain in the forecast this week which the EA will be monitoring closely and will be ready to respond accordingly.
Any constituents concerned about potential flooding from rivers should check their local flood risk at: www.gov.uk/floodsdestroy. You can also sign up for free flood warnings either on the website or by calling Floodline on 0345 988 1188.
Constituents may also be interested to know about the recently launched consultation on proposed amendments to the Flood Re scheme, a joint Government and industry initiative designed to improve the affordability and availability of flood insurance for UK households at high flood risk.
These proposals aim to incentivise the uptake of Property Flood Resilience measures. This could mean discounted premiums for people who make improvements to their homes; such as installing flood doors or moving electrics up walls to reduce the impact of flooding, and additional payments on top of claims to help them install these measures when flooding does hit.
I would encourage any interested residents to participate in this consultation and the call for evidence. You can find the consultation at this link:
https://consult.defra.gov.uk/flood-insurance-preparedness-team/amendments-to-the-flood-re-scheme/
and the call for evidence at this link: