Minister for Water and Flooding provides update on North West Leicestershire

Amanda Hack recently received an update from the Minister for Water and Flooding about the state of some of our waterways in North West Leicestershire.

Following correspondence from many constituents, I recently wrote to the Minster for Water and Flooding to request an update on flood resilience in North West Leicestershire.

You can find a copy of the response below: 

Dear Amanda,

Thank you for your letter of 8 October on behalf of your constituents about flooding and combined sewer overflows. I apologise for the delay in replying.

The government understands that flooding is devastating for those affected. Protecting communities around the country from flooding is one of the Secretary of State’s five core priorities, which is why this government has launched a Flood Resilience Taskforce to provide oversight of national and local flood resilience and preparedness ahead of and after the winter flood season.

The responsibility for local flood risk management falls to a Lead Local Flood Authority, which for North West Leicestershire is Leicestershire County Council. This ensures risks of flooding from surface water, groundwater and ordinary watercourses are identified and managed as part of a local flood risk management strategy. Flooding can be reported directly on the Council’s website.

You requested an update on the government’s plans to improve flood resilience across North West Leicestershire in the near future. I have included information below in relation to the watercourses you mentioned in your letter.

Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs), River Mease
Work is underway around CSOs with water companies now required to submit their Event Duration Monitor returns (by which treatment works monitor an event and its duration) annually to the Environment Agency (EA). The two main areas of compliance with current permits are whether a CSO was operational for an acceptable amount of time and whether it operated outside the permit (i.e. in dry weather).

There are new requirements in the Environment Act and the Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan. The plan sets stringent new targets that require water companies to deliver the largest infrastructure programme in water company history. As part of the national investment in water company regulation, the EA is increasing its regulatory presence across Severn Trent Water’s sites, which includes the River Mease, investing in new tools to enable it to receive, store, analyse and validate regulatory data, as well as improving its water company enforcement.

You may be aware that there is an ongoing project to remove sewage discharges from the Measham and Packington sewage treatment works to the Mease catchment. This is due for completion by March 2027 and will remove the associated CSO discharges from the Mease.

River Sence
The EA has not received any reports of surface water flooding from the River Sence in Heather and Ibstock. It is not aware of any flood issues in this area and there are no planned flood resilience measures. If your constituents have any information regarding flooding in this area, please share this information with the local EA team by emailing: [email protected].

Diseworth Brook
The EA is aware of several reports of flooding due to fluvial and surface water in the community of Diseworth, since 2012. The Diseworth Brook is the responsibility of the Lead Local Flood Authority (Leicestershire County Council) as it is not a main river. Leicestershire County Council has recently been granted funding to develop a Flood Alleviation Scheme for the community which consists of a combination of measures including property flood resilience, a local flood warning system and natural flood management measures. There is an additional Flood Alleviation Scheme further downstream for Long Whatton. This is also the responsibility of Leicestershire County Council.

Grace Dieu Brook
The EA is aware that some properties in the community of Whitwick have experienced flooding on several occasions. A Flood Alleviation Scheme is not planned during the current flood investment programme. The EA maintains the Grace Dieu Brook to minimise the risk of blockages in the channel that could increase the risk of flooding. The area is also regularly patrolled during times of high river levels to ensure that the EA’s assets in the area are functioning as they should and any blockages can be cleared quickly.

I would encourage individuals at risk to register for the Flood Warning Service to receive all relevant Flood Alerts. More information on being prepared for flood risk, as well as how to check flood risk, can be found here. Your constituents can report pollution or flooding by calling the EA’s incident hotline on: 0800 80 70 60.

Yours sincerely,
EMMA HARDY MP