Rife for action

It’s not just in our district where there have been problems and I saw the MP for Bridgwater, Ian Liddell-Grainger, talking about his constituency and the fact that the EA had not dredged the rivers for the Somerset levels.

It made me think of our local rifes and the fact that they have not been dredged for over a decade or more.

I believe the EA has an opportunity to look again at our water courses and look to the past for a solution.

I have believed for some time that the EA should take advantage of the window of opportunity in the autumn when there is less impact on wildlife and when local farmers have spare capacity to be able to work on behalf of the EA.

The rifes have the capacity to store huge quantities of water and I and Nick Gibb, MP, have been calling for over a year on the EA to introduce a programme of dredging the rifes.

But in these cash-strapped times if the EA paid farmers to dredge the rifes on their land, this would build water capacity, increase resilience in the system, aiding our flood defences in general, and would be a low cost option.

I also believe householders have a role to play by taking responsibility for clearing ditches or water courses on their land and also investing in common sense devices to protect their house and homes.

Arun has arranged for the Flood Forum to bring its exhibition road show to a number of communities to demonstrate how these devices can help protect against flooding.

We are trying to arrange with the Arundel Flood Risk Community Group to have them come along to one of the monthly farmers’ markets in the town.

Our climate is changing and we need to change to meet those challenges – we all need to work together to build resilience and defend our communities.

Paul Dendle

Arundel district councillor and cabinet member for environmental services

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