A PROJECT established within the county three years ago to help reduce the effects of flooding, has successfully introduced more than 100 natural flood management measures.
The Worcestershire Natural Flood Management project aims to put interventions in place to hold water upstream, by applying natural methods to help slow the flow of water further downstream.
So far, the project within the county has focussed on three areas known to suffer from flooding, which are the Dowles Brook in Wyre Forest, Barbourne Brook in Worcester and the Cotswold Tributaries, which consist of Badsey Brook, Merry Brook and the River Isbourne.
Flooding is managed, primarily by three methods, including physical barriers, such as placing trees across a watercourse to create a leaky dam, allowing low lying water to flood upstream, slowing the time it takes water to move downstream, and planting trees to help soak up the water in upstream areas.
Coun Tony Miller, cabinet member for Environment, said: This project has been very successful in helping to reduce the effects of flooding in some local areas within the county.
“This sort of work would not be possible without the good will of the local landowners and I’d like to thank them for making this important work possible.
“We’re now looking at sourcing the funding to continue the work that we’ve started and help us to introduce additional measures in other parts of the county.”
The Worcestershire Natural Flood Management Project was initially allocated £500,000 by DEFRA, to run for three years, ending in 2021. Funding is now being sourced to enable the project to run for a further six years and the Council is currently in the process of submitting a business case for this funding.
Over the course of the project the Council has worked in partnership with the Environment Agency, Wildlife Trusts, Forestry Commission, local authorities, residents, Flood Action Groups and landowners.
More information about the project can be found on the County Council website at www.worcestershire.gov.uk/flooding
