EA 'lacking basic river knowledge'

RELIEVED islanders have watched threatening water levels drop this week after a nerve racking

weekend.

Residents of Ham Island, Old Windsor, felt particularly threatened as the river level

rose threateningly for days after the heavy rain stopped - thanks to melting snow from as

far away as Gloucestershire.

Flood wardens Jim Wanamaker and Gillie Bolton live on the island. Both have been critical in the

past of the Environment Agency (EA) which is responsible for the rivers. This week Mr Wanamaker conceded that the EA had made good use of the Jubilee River, opening it up before the water reached its peak to allow levels to drop.

The Jubilee River was constructed specifically to safeguard nearby towns.

But he said: "We would still like to see the river properly dredged and routine maintenance carried out. "A tree has been lying across the river blocking the flow for days. In the past a man in a barge would have been here by now to clear it."

He said he felt EA staff were still too obsessed with feasibility studies and computers, but lacked the basic knowledge of the river possessed by the old National Rivers Authority.

Graham Croucher, technical specialist in flood risk management at the EA, said that the

Jubilee River had been used to reduce water levels.

He said: "As a result of the heavy rain we started using the Jubilee River on February 10,

flowing at 68 per cent of its capacity. The gates have been gradually closed in over the

weekend as flows have fallen."

He would not commit to future river dredging. He said: "Studies have shown that large-scale deep dredging in the Thames cannot be justified on economic or environmental grounds.

"Studies are continuing to determine the flood risk benefits of dredging and sustainable ways of disposing of the dredge materials."