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A grant making charity working closely with the
East Suffolk Internal Drainage Board
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The East Suffolk Internal Drainage Board (ESIDB) is a risk management authority, in the same manner as the county council or the Environment Agency. Working with the Alde & Ore Estuary Trust, the ESIDB is taking forward the scheme which will enable existing river walls to be made resilient. This newsletter explains a little more about them and the work they do.
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For over 85 years the ESIDB has been very successful in reducing flood risk to the communities and landowners in Suffolk. So successful in fact, that many people living and working in the area know nothing of the ESIDB and the vital work that they do to help prevent flooding and facilitate land use.
Their success is measured by what does not happen rather than what does. They continually maintain, improve and watch over our drainage system, which covers 13,414 hectares, 102 km of watercourses, 10 pumping stations and 2034 hectares of designated wildlife sites.
The ESIDB is part of the Water Management Alliance, a consortium of like-minded Internal Drainage Boards operating in the Anglian region. Together they are building resources and capacity in order to meet the challenges of climate change, sustainable water and flood risk management. Their members are all independent and democratically accountable, statutory bodies, who seek to protect some 548,000 hectares in East Anglia.
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Did you know Internal Drainage Boards…?
- date back some 900 years and are one of Europe’s oldest water management organisations.
- have statutory powers to undertake flood defence and water management works.
- aim to manage water levels and flood risk management for people and wildlife sustainably and aim to limit impacts of flood and drought within their drainage districts.
- are collectively one of the biggest managers of freshwaters and wetlands in the UK.
- manage drainage districts that cover 10% of the land in England and Wales.
- manage and maintain over 500 pumping stations, 22,000 km of watercourse and numerous sluices and weirs for people and wildlife.
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An update from the
East Suffolk Internal Drainage Board
Submission of outline business case
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Following a lengthy consultation with the Environment Agency, the East Suffolk Internal Drainage Board (ESIDB) has submitted the outline business case to request Government funding towards works at Aldeburgh, Iken and Snape. Since the Environment Agency and the Internal Drainage Board have done so much work over the past few months on the case, the review process will be a quicker route than was originally planned. We expect to hear the outcome from the Environment Agency in the Autumn, as the innovative nature of the project will mean that it is likely to be closely scrutinised.
Once feedback has been received, work can then commence on the second business case which enables the ESIDB to bid for funding for works covering Boyton, Butley, Chillesford, Gedgrave, Orford and Sudbourne. The whole estuary programme of works will take some 7-8 years to complete.
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Water Voles Along The Estuary
Some Background
Water voles are nationally scarce in the UK. They like to live in slow-flowing rivers, dykes, lakes and reedbeds, making much of the Alde and Ore estuary their ideal habitat. They are fully protected in the UK under the Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981, meaning water voles, their breeding sites and resting places are protected by law and it is an offence to damage or destroy any place that water voles use for shelter or protection.
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The displacement of these small mammals for flood defence works is designed and planned to avoid impacts on water voles and their habitat. Where this is not possible, a Natural England mitigation licence is required to detail the exact methods and timings for water vole mitigation work, with the information from surveys is submitted to Natural England as part of the licence conditions.
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Water Vole Monitoring along the River Alde
For the Aldeburgh Flood Defence works, a bespoke licence was obtained by the ESIDB to allow the works to go ahead, whilst minimising impacts on water voles during and after the work. The mitigation undertaken comprised of a combination of displacement and trapping.
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Following the completion of works, a programme of annual water vole monitoring surveys was planned. The purpose of this monitoring was to re-survey the lengths of the dyke that had been mitigated during the works and compare the findings to the original surveys. The aim was to monitor the habitat suitability of the dykes as vegetation re-establishes, as well as to look for field signs (feeding remains, burrows, etc) showing the presence of animals in the dykes. The monitoring surveys are undertaken annually until the habitat is assessed as being established and water vole has found to be present.
The Good News
Monitoring surveys undertaken at Aldeburgh to date show that habitat in the new dykes is establishing as expected and that water voles are gradually moving back into the new habitat. This indicates that the mitigation has been successful in allowing the essential flood defence works to be completed, whilst ensuring the continued survival of the water vole population in this area.
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Water Vole illustration by Emma Chichester Clark
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Take a moment to enjoy this video of glorious bird song and spectacular views, along the River Alde at Snape Maltings, Suffolk
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If you use social media, please do like/follow/share/ tweet our @SOSestuary posts and help spread the word. There are many people who love the estuary area but are not residents, and social media is a very effective way to reach many of them and encourage them to support the campaign too. The Facebook, Twitter and Instagram icons below will take you directly to our pages.
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