Burstwick United

Unblocking of drain in the rear gardens in Trinity Close and Churchill Rise - 29th Jan 2008

1. Work commenced on the 29th Jan on removal of the Willow Tree whose root system has blocked and possibly damaged the culvert. This work is being carried out by the owner.
2. ERYC commenced work the 29th of Jan on unblocking the drain in the rear gardens in Trinity Close by jet washing, this has only been partly successful and now the water level has dropped sufficiently the original camera survey can be completed to see the extent of any damage to the culvert so as to plan for any further works.

Hedon Haven and Hall Road Bridge (Burstwick) Drain Level - These are expected to rise during Thursday's rain fall.

• Hedon Haven Upstream Level - -0.14 Metres - 29th of Jan 2008
• Hall Road Bridge - +0.5 Metres - 29th of Jan 2008

Dredging at Hedon Haven

The upstream level of the Burstwick Drain at Hedon Haven prior to the dredging was never less than +0.4 M so the dredging has so far removed a 0.54 M ridge of silt. This should result in an increased flow rate and a larger reserve capacity in the drain. The EA’s plan is to dredge down to -1.0 M so there is still a bit to go.

Dredging at Stoney Creek

Will commence when dredging at Hedon Haven is complete.

We would ask the question: Why was this not surveyed or understood after the floods in June?

Our opinion is that subject to no or very little rain today then all should be ok, but please consult the EA for detailed information.

All pumps, at Hedon Haven, have ceased operation. Again, our opinion is that there should be much more capacity available with short notice. This should also be discussed with BP to see if access to RHS of the Drain is possible or if they can help with pumping in an Emergency situation (would be good for BP local relations)

Many thanks to the EA guys at the Drain for there good work and for there rapid deployment and response from the Incident Room, but for the EA in general we need action now for the future. The banks could have been built up during the summer for very little cost and we could have slept easy in our beds. This lack of long term action is unacceptable to say the least.

There has been reports that building up the banks may have been illegal however this is not the case.

As an emergency measure we have the right to protect our property and the EA have no objections to us or our group building a flood defence for this purpose.

The building up of the banks at Burstwick Drain was completed as far as possible on Sunday the 20th of January, with extra emergency work on Tuesday morning as the waterlevel came up. This is only a temporary job of around 8" extra soil at the known low areas' at the rear of Churchill Rise / Trinity Close. There are other low areas further down which may also effect us in Burstwick. Hopefully in the future the level will be built up to a higher level and to the full specification. We are informed that the best time is during the summer months. Many thanks to Andy and Keith for carrying out this work.