Thousands of flood defences below standard as Storm Bram hits

Thousands of flood defenses meant to protect multiple homes or businesses in England were below required conditions when winter set in, a new analysis has found.

The 6,498 “high consequence” defenses were among approximately 8,500 defenses that did not function exactly as intended due to erosion, damage or overgrowth.

Exclusive figures obtained by the BBC show that almost 9% of the 98,000 defense systems inspected by the Environment Agency were in poor condition as of October 20.

Although the Ministry of Environment, Agriculture and Rural Affairs says record investments have improved the defense network since 2024, serious regional disparities remain.

More than 40% of flood defenses were substandard in North Tyneside, Brentwood in Essex and Hart in Hampshire; These were the highest rates in the country.

A fifth of the defenses along the Thames corridor, which crosses Oxfordshire, parts of Surrey and Greater London, were also failing to meet the requirement due to record rainfall and tidal storm surges.

Storm Bram brought strong winds and heavy rain to the UK on Tuesday. Dozens of flood warnings issued.

Flooding was reported on riverside streets in York, parts of the M66 in Greater Manchester and in Devon and Cornwall. train services were disrupted.

Flood defenses in England range from man-made walls, levees and storm drains to natural areas of high ground.

The Environment Agency oversees almost all defenses aimed at preventing rivers from spreading into vulnerable towns and cities.

“Any flood defenses that are not operating as close to 100% efficiency as possible is concerning,” said Dave Throup, former regional manager for the Midlands Environment Agency.

“It’s hard to say why this is happening. Is it a lack of money? Or is it the hit that these flood defenses have taken as a result of multiple major flood events over the last three or four years? It’s very hard to separate that out.”

The data shows the scale of the challenge facing the government’s repair efforts, despite ministers committing £2.65bn over two years to build and repair more than 1,000 flood defenses across England.

The Environment Agency gives flood defense teams a condition score out of five during their routine inspections. This is then measured against a target score that reflects the required condition.

Defenses can be marked by cracks and leaks. Sometimes they may be overgrown with vegetation or blockage of drains and weirs.

The Environment Agency said the defenses were in worse condition but could still function properly.

Floods Minister Emma Hardy said the Labor government had inherited flood defenses in the “worst state on record” after “years of underinvestment”.

He said: “Our immediate response was to direct £108 million towards maintenance and repairs. But this is just the beginning.

“We are investing at least £10.5bn (the largest ever programme) in flood protection by 2036. This will build new defenses and repair assets across the country, protecting our communities for decades to come.”

The Environment Agency’s long-term aim is for only 2% of its high-consequence defenses to fall below the target condition. The current figure is closer to 9 percent.

There have been several high-profile failures in flood protection in recent years.

More than 600 homes were evacuated in 2019 when the River Steeping burst its banks near Wainfleet, Lincolnshire. an official report It found that an embankment built in 1968 had collapsed despite the Environment Agency being aware of vulnerabilities in the area.

However, the BBC found that high-consequence flood defenses are around 45% more likely to fail if maintained by a third party other than the Environment Agency.

The agency only deals with a third of the defense systems it regularly inspects. The other third is managed by private individuals, companies or charities, and the remainder is mainly the responsibility of local councils.

In January, complex flood protection responsibilities nearly led to disaster in a Leicestershire neighborhood.

Residents living on the Grange Park estate in Loughborough say they have been forced to dig out their own flood defenses after a private pond meant to protect their homes overflowed.

The large gully was designed to store floodwater, but residents there have raised concerns about its capacity during severe storms. It filled to capacity in January, when the county experienced unprecedented amounts of rain and water began pouring into the front doors.

William H Davis Homes, which owned the pond at the time, said the problem was caused by a blockage on a neighboring parcel of land, but worried residents say they didn’t have time to navigate the liability network because the water was flowing forward.

In near-freezing conditions, about 30 people dug ditches in the green space outside their homes to divert water flow.

Engineer Katie Anderson led the effort.

“I don’t want to think about what could have happened if everyone hadn’t come together,” he said.

There was confusion about who they could turn to for help. Katie said calls to water companies Severn Trent, the city council and the developer had gone nowhere and time was running out.

“They all said it wasn’t their problem,” he added.

The pond was officially adopted by Charnwood Borough Council in October; however, no improvements have yet been made to increase its capacity.

A council spokesman said initial inspections showed the drainage scheme was working “as intended”. He added that an independent survey was ongoing and any recommendations from this would be taken into account.

Katie, meanwhile, said she would be willing to take matters into her own hands again if there was a danger of floodwaters reaching her home.

The Environment Agency said wet winters were making the task of repairing flood defenses more difficult than ever.

Six of the 10 wettest winter periods (October to March) ever recorded in England and Wales occurred in the 21st century.

There were six named storms in the UK last winter. These include storms Bert and Connall, which caused severe flooding in England in November.

The Thames corridor has seen some of the biggest impacts of the last two winters. The Environment Agency says it has repaired many of the highest-risk defenses, but many fall short of required conditions and the vast majority of these are maintained by third parties.

Prof Hannah Cloke OBE, a leading flood expert at the University of Reading, said the BBC’s findings needed to be seen in context as the data was “not perfect”.

“We’ve got some percentages here, but that doesn’t tell us exactly what would happen if every single one of the flood defenses failed,” he said, pointing to the fact that a defense like the Thames barrier is more important than a parcel of natural high ground next to a small stream.

Similarly, some defenses may be in good shape but may not have been designed effectively in the first place. He said defense facilities built five years ago had already been overwhelmed by floods.

Prof Cloke said the government should invest in “catchment management” plans that limit the rate at which rainwater enters river systems.

These include planting trees or digging holes and burrows in the land, but since most of the river basins are on private land, these activities are often prevented.

“We can maintain our flood defenses, we can try to protect property, but if we can actually catch the rain where it falls, that can be really helpful in terms of making sure that floodwaters don’t cause runoff,” he added.

An Environment Agency spokesperson said: “Protecting communities across England from the devastating impact of flooding is a top priority – this is more important than ever as climate change brings more extreme weather.

“Each year, we complete up to 165,000 flood asset surveys across the country and have recently allocated £108 million to repairs and maintenance. This will help provide the strongest protection for nearby communities.”