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(Will the EA ever admit their mistakes?)

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Environment Agency has won the International Theiss River Prize of £218,000 for environmental improvements to the Thames and Jubilee Rivers.

The Maidenhead Advertiser stated that the River Thames has been crowned the beauty queen of the planet's waterways.  The renowned river which runs through London was selected out of hundreds of rivers across every continent as the winner of International Thiess river prize, which celebrates outstanding achievement in river management and restoration.  It was up against beautiful scenic rivers around the world such as the Yellow River in China and Hattah Lakes in Australia.  The Thames scooped the prize due to its dramatic recovery from a biologically dead river in the 1950s to today's thriving waterway.  Peter Quarmby, flood coastal risk manager, said: "The River Thames' remarkable recovery over the last 50 years is a testament to the dedication and hard work of many people and organisations."  The award was given to the Environment Agency and announced on Tuesday in Perth, Australia.  London mayor Boris Johnson said: "The Thames is one of our most precious assets, so I am thrilled to see that efforts to improve and preserve its good health are being lauded on the world stage."

The truth is that the Thames is no longer dredged for flood defence purposes and the probability of flooding is increasing due to bed rise, the £110m Jubilee River fell apart on first use in 2003 which resulted in £5m for repairs and a £2.75m out-of-court settlement, and the new channel is still unable to carry its design capacity. 

Taplow Mill Leat had a £1m problem and the Taplow Control structure was built without a stilling basin, Manor Farm Weir was built back to front and Slough Weir protection was stripped away by flood water (£680,000 to repair)

The Myrke embankment that has already been rebuilt once in 2004 at a cost of £1.3m is degrading rapidly, the bend radius problem is unresolved and the channel is overwhelmed by algae every Summer.

Please also see  Algae at Slough Weir - Aug 2010 , Letter from Robert Runcie (June 2006) , What's wrong with the Jubilee River and Algal mat warning sign - July 2009

The Environment Agency submission for the international river prize focused on five innovative projects put in place to further improve the quality of the Thames and its tributaries:
  • Working with farmers – which has helped to reduce pollution from nutrients and pesticides.
  • The Jubilee River Flood Alleviation Scheme -  which has created a new 11 km stretch of naturalistic river and habitats, whilst delivering flood protection to 5,500 homes.
  • The London Rivers Action Plan - which is helping restore London’s urban rivers, with 58 new river restoration projects in progress since its launch in 2009.
  • The London Tideway Tunnels - a £3.6bn scheme tackling the 39 million tonnes of storm sewer overflows that enter the tidal Thames annually.
  • Thames Estuary 2100 - a 100-year adaptable plan to ensure the future sustainable management of tidal flood risk in the Thames estuary, and protecting over 1.25million people and £200bn in property value.
  • The London Tideway Improvements - three Thames Water schemes to tackle the 39 million tonnes of storm sewer overflows that enter the tidal Thames in an average year. These are the £675m Sewage Works Upgrades, the £635m Lee Tunnel, and the proposed Thames Tunnel (estimated cost £3.6bn).

Further information

Source document http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/news/124169.aspx

 

The Jubilee River story - October 2010 - The International Thiess River Prize

You can find the EA map of the Jubilee River here: Jubilee River - MAP (EA) 163Kb.pdf