Flood Management and Prevention

Note of the Meeting, 7^th February 2024, Friends Meeting House, Priory Road, Chichester, Organised by Chichester Climate Change Group

1. Purpose of the Meeting

Chichester Climate Change Group is a new group under the umbrella of Transition Chichester. The focus on flooding and climate change at this meeting is part of a wider initiative to build public awareness of the problems we are facing and press for a joined-up Climate Change Adaptation Strategy for the Chichester area. Councils have their responsibilities but we, the public, also have a responsibility to understand the issues and to prepare for what we know is coming.

2. Background to the Meeting: Why do we have this problem?

Many reasons but two in particular – increased periods of heavy rainfall as the global climate changes and the serious degrading of the drainage system that we used to have.

In the early 1800s the drainage system that had been gradually developed for the peninsula through hundreds of years, designed largely to facilitate farming and nature, worked well. Farming and communities depended on it and it was well maintained. It consisted mainly of a network of ditches and ponds, the ditches for flow towards the sea and the ponds to hold back flood water so as not to inundate areas downstream. 

Those were in the days when people lived in and with nature but with industrialisation, population growth and modern farming techniques, the network has been modified in response to the need for more housing and roads. Its maintenance has also been very much neglected, with ditches being deliberately filled-in where individual land owners didn’t want them, through inappropriate culverting and through long term neglect, letting nature and trees take over and through inappropriate maintenance resulting in soil erosion, sedimentation and poor flow. The result is that the system is not fit for purpose. 

That was the background for this meeting.

3. Summary Note on the Meeting

1. There was standing room only at the Chichester Climate Change meeting on 7th February 2024 as around 75 people met to hear 3 presentations on the management of the drainage network in the Manhood peninsula, how it is managed now and how it must be improved to cope with projected increases in precipitation as our climate changes. 

2. A warmer world means more moisture is absorbed in the air and this causes more frequent and intense rainfall as we are all beginning to appreciate. Focus during the meeting was mainly on the Manhood Peninsula as a prime example of the problems and how they can be addressed. The other main challenge is of course inundation from the sea and coastal defences, which will be addressed in a future meeting. 

3. The meeting comprised two sessions, each with 35/40 minute slide presentations followed by question & answer sessions.

4. Jane Reeve started the first session. She is currently working with the Manhood Wildlife and Heritage Group on tree planting and biodiversity. Previously, she headed a wetland improvement and flood risk reduction project (FLOW). It was funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund with contributions from local councils and local businesses and was focused on joining up ditches, recovering relic ponds and creating more capacity in the connected wetland system of the area. Jane had become interested in ditches not as a drainage engineer but as a biologist with a passion for water voles whose numbers had been plummeting. Well maintained ditches are wildlife corridors and the future of our water voles depend on improving the state of the Manhood ditch and drainage network. She is now the Wetland Conservation Management Lead for the Manhood Wildlife and Heritage Group. 

5. The Peninsula south of Chichester has an intricate system of drainage ditches that drain farmland and surface water in the area and the flood risk due to climate change is increasing. The Manhood includes 1800 ditches which have a combined length of 350 kilometres. 

6. She explained that her early work, thanks to the efforts of significant volunteer input, provided a far better database and overview of the drainage network than was available beforehand, in terms of the width, depth and flow directions of the channels and information about each section in terms of blockages, resilience, biodiversity, effectiveness and corrective measures needed. >From the survey information, undertaken by a large number of volunteers, the project was able to provide maps showing where drainage improvement was critically needed (red), where it was at risk (amber) and where it was working well (green). The project also provided guidance on maintenance and improvement plans (fully costed) with detailed reports to the Parish councils of participating parishes.

7. Jane then explained that much of the implementation of her recommendations depended on the actions of landowners and others including Parish Councils, some of whom picked up the baton while others did not. She summarised the basics of good ditch structure and maintenance, emphasising the importance of the right vegetation with the roots stabilising the sides of the ditches and the above ground growth providing protection from rain storms and cover for the wildlife. Where vegetation of banks is cut back severely the problems become worse due the banks drying as our summers become hotter. On the other hand where her recommendations were followed she was able to compare the before and after state of biodiversity and demonstrate the improvement. And of course, the result was a more appropriate water flow which reduced flooding pressures. 

8. Jane’s presentation, supplemented by Paul Bedford from the Manhood Peninsula Partnerships (MPP), highlighted the particular vulnerability of the Manhood to the effects of climate change including sea level rise, a rising water table and more intense precipitation. Formed in 2001, the MPP has shared information across local government, government agencies, local universities, the RSPB, the National Trust, the Chichester Harbour Conservancy and the Peninsula Community Forum. Whilst not a lobbying group it help local people to address the environmental, social and economic challenges of the area.

9. Our last speaker, Duncan Kier, Flood Risk Management Engineer (Havant Borough Council). Duncan gave a “tour de force” talk of how to manage drainage ditches to avoid flooding. He has worked since July 2022 for the Coastal Partners which now includes Chichester District. Prior to that, Duncan had worked at CDC for 15 years; with the first 9 years working as an Environmental Protection Technical Officer specialising in water related aspects of public health. He obtained a First Class BEng (Hons) Degree in Civil Engineering from Portsmouth University to help further his career in Coastal Engineering. In his job Duncan deals with applications from riparian landowners to make changes to their ditches that require permission and also looks at the system as a whole to ensure it works well and that flooding risks are reduced. He was clearly well versed in the legal responsibilities of riparian landowners and what was good practice and what wasn’t.

10. Duncan made four key points.

• Firstly culverts are not a good idea if you can avoid them as they cause a maintenance headache and hence increased flooding risk. 
• Secondly although the District has the enabling power to intervene they have no budget for this so he has to persuade riparian landowners to do what they are legally responsible for and advise them of the best way of clearing ditches to help the system work best. 
• Thirdly many property owners have no idea of the liability they may have towards ditch maintenance and culverts and may need advice on their responsibilities in law.
• Lastly much more could be achieved with more funding.

11. He also confirmed that if the County Council and the Environment Agency find that the landowner is not cooperative on an important maintenance matter, especially one to avoid flooding, they have the right to undertake the necessary work and put a charge on the property to ensure it is paid when the property is sold, although this power is used sparingly.

12. An additional Q&A half hour was added at the end of the meeting which was closed at 16.30.

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4. Conclusions (Chichester Climate Change Group)

A small group met after the meeting to see if we could tease out a brief statement on the overall challenge we now have and how we should address it. 

It was clear from the meeting that WSCC and CDC do what they can with very restricted budgets but these are clearly very stretched. The work by the project team and volunteers in the FLOW project was impressive, but the project had a finite budget and by June 2021 the project had to stop. The findings and recommendations for further work were delivered to the Parish Councils and other concerned bodies However, without substantial budgets for implementing the recommendations and continuing the repair work, the condition of ditches in the Manhood and elsewhere will continue to decline. This will mean continued flooding and deteriorating biodiversity. 

Some of the recommendations are relatively easy to implement. Training land managers and owners in ditch maintenance is essential – the guidelines are available but are very often just not used. Inspection of designated areas of ditches can be done by trained volunteers to identify critical situations and inform the relevant Council. There is a need to continue to monitor the condition of the watercourses and to make sure that riparian landowners carry out their responsibilities by maintaining the ditches and banks in an appropriate way. 

The Chichester Climate Change Group would like to find some way of ensuring that the good work started by the FLOW project and the SWISH initiative continues and that Parish Councils and volunteers continue to play their part. 

The budget for FLOW was in the region of  £500,000. A great deal was achieved but the job is not finished.

• Are there funding sources that would sponsor a follow-up to the FLOW project? 
• Do other areas around Chichester need similar attention? 

We would welcome ideas or comments on the last 2 points so please email us with suggestions. Alternatively if you want to speak to members of the group, some of us regularly attend the Earth Cafe at the Friends Meeting House, Priory Road every Friday morning 11.00 – 13.00. Please come along and let us know your views in an informal setting over tea or coffee. If you would be interested in joining the Climate Change Group, come along and discuss. 

5. Further Reading

www.mwhg.org.uk   “Fixing and Linking our Wetlands, Project, March 2016 – June 2021”

6. Further Meetings

There is clearly interest in what can be done in our area to adapt to climate Change and the group is considering topics for further meetings over the next 18months. These are likely to be on the following subjects:

• Coastal Flooding and Sea defences – learning from the Portsmouth Scheme
• (Planned Transition Chi meeting on Adaptation)
• Community Energy Schemes, their role and how to make them happen.
• New Housing – will the volume house builders ever offer anything above the minimum low energy standards and will this change? 
• Regenerative Agriculture – what does this mean, what are the chances of more?
• Will existing flood schemes (such as the Chichester scheme) withstand climate change? 

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This communication is sent to all members of the CCG, all those attended the meeting and parish councils that were invited but did not attend.