§ Mr. Gordon PrenticeTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimate he has made of the shortfall in the(a) numbers and (b) availability of sandbags during the November floods which could have been used to positive effect. [138546]
§ Mr. MorleyNo such estimates have been made, although around 2 million sandbags have so far been deployed. While I am aware that supplies did come under pressure in some areas, the current indications are that their availability has generally been adequate. This is138W encouraging given the large-scale flooding we have witnessed. The humble sandbag has played a vital role in reinforcing existing defences.
§ Mr. RedwoodTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what action was taken to retain water running off the mountains and hills near the source of the River Severn above the main settlements on that river. [138558]
§ Mr. Morley[holding answer 16 November 2000]: At present, the only way of retaining water running off the mountains near the source of the river Severn is by utilising the storage capacity in Clywedog Reservoir, situated near Llanidloes.
The reservoir is managed by the Environment Agency and is principally for regulating flows in the River Severn. There are statutory controls which require the lowering of water levels to reduce the risk of flooding locally. However, the geographic location of the reservoir means that any flood protection benefit of retaining water is limited to settlements close to the reservoir. There are little or no similar benefits to other settlements further downstream.
I understand that, prior to the flooding in October and in common with practice over recent years, the Agency managed water levels in the reservoir so that they were below that which is statutorily required, so helping to maximise its storage potential. Given the very large flows of water run off from recent exceptional weather, options to retain it are very limited.
§ Mr. RedwoodTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what the Environment Agency's estimate is of the cost of protecting all the homes flooded in the last month from future flooding. [138557]
§ Mr. Morley[holding answer 16 November 2000]: The Government's aim is to alleviate the risk of flooding. It is not possible always to guarantee full protection. Once the flood waters have subsided enough for them to assess the situation fully, the Environment Agency will be able to estimate the cost of necessary and justifiable flood alleviation schemes.