Storm Babet brought significant heavy rainfall across much of the UK. At its peak there were 29 Flood Warnings and 32 Flood Alerts in place across the county.
This resulted in property flooding and in particular, in the town of Horncastle, where concerns have been raised about the operation of its flood storage area.
The Environment Agency’s Chief Engineer has been asked by Phillip Duffy, Environment Agency Chief Executive, and Leigh Edlin, Area Director, to begin a thorough investigation, whilst the wider flood response incident continues.
A sluice gate within the Scheme did not automatically operate as it should. This meant the flood scheme did not store as large a quantity of flood water as it was designed to.
Leigh Edlin Environment Agency Area Director said:
“We are aware that the Flood Alleviation Scheme did not reduce flood risk to the extent it was designed to. We will continue our investigation and ensure we learn from its findings.
“The Flood Alleviation Scheme is now being operated manually. Our teams remain on high alert and our Lincoln incident room is open 24/7, as the risk of flooding remains high in many areas.”
