Water Management Alliance

All of our operations are controlled and financed by the Board directly. We undertake planned maintenance and capital work annually, using a healthy mix of in-house resource, consultants and contractors. We also undertake rechargeable work on behalf of riparian owners and other occupiers. We respond to emergency situations and other events as and when they arise, in accordance with our emergency procedures and scheme of delegation. These are vitally important services that we provide to help keep South Holland Internal Drainage District safe.

Planned Maintenance work

The Board undertakes a number of routine operations annually to ensure the safety and security of people, property, livelihoods and the natural environment within its Drainage District. Principle operations include:

Weed cutting

De-silting

Bushing and tree coppicing

Control of water levels

Mowing and control of bankside vegetation

The Board also undertakes a number of other planned operations such as slip repairs, pipeline inspections, culvert cleansing, repairs and renewals.

Balancing Flood Risk Management and Biodiversity

We recognise that our watercourses are not just Engineering Structures but are also Wildlife Corridors. As such we seek to ensure that important wildlife and their habitats are not disturbed by our operations. The Board’s Biodiversity Action Plan and Standard Maintenance Operations (SMO) document clearly set out how we intend to achieve this.

The SMO document has been based on the Drainage Channel Biodiversity Manual produced by the Association of Drainage Authorities and Natural England. The SMO has been approved by Natural England and is ISO 14001 quality assured. We also seek to reduce our carbon footprint by undertaking work in the most carbon efficient manner.

Planned Capital work

The Board has a full capital works programme, which includes:

Switchgear and Telemetry Refurbishment

Tidal Sluices Refurbishment

Pump Renewals

Health and Safety/Site Security Improvements

Inspection of the Drainage Infrastructure

The condition of our drainage infrastructure is periodically assessed by trained Asset Surveyors to ensure that it remains fit for purpose and meets today’s health and safety requirements. The results of our visual inspections inform the planned maintenance and capital works programmes for future years.

Rechargeable work

We undertake rechargeable work on behalf of riparian owners and other occupiers. If you would like us to quote for a job please contact the Operations Manager, who will be pleased to give you a fixed price for the work required.

Emergencies

We respond to emergencies during periods of high rainfall and during tidal surge events, utilising our workforce, Board membership and state of the art telemetry system. We work closely with other operating authorities and have detailed how we shall respond in an emergency situation on our Emergencies webpage.

Other work

Much of our Drainage Infrastructure is at the end of its economic life and needs replacing or extensively refurbishing. Clearly the necessary improvements are now scheduled on our mid-term capital programme, but if the infrastructure fails before we are able to do the work, we need to respond immediately and make repairs to ensure the continued safety and security of those who are reliant upon our service. We may also need to undertake other work to facilitate development as and when required, in accordance with the Board's Planning and Byelaw Policy.

We have to contend with an increasing amount of fly-tipping, which is blighting our landscape, costly to manage and bad for the natural environment. It is becoming the ‘new crop’ in and around Holbeach. We are working with the Councils and the Environment Agency to collectively help tackle the problem.