§ Mr. GoodmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what effect the operations of the Environment Agency have had on the levels of flooding in the Medmenham area and Marlow. [89762]
§ Mr. Morley[holding answer 13 January 2003]: Rainfall over the final days of December and the beginning of January was close to the average for the whole month of December. This fell on a saturated catchment in which rivers were already running bankfull. Under these circumstances, there is little that can be done by the Agency to alleviate flooding if defences are not already in place. Early indications are that this was the third most severe floods in this area since records began in 1882, being exceeded only by the floods of 1894 and 1947. In recent years, the Agency has conducted public awareness campaigns to make those at risk aware of that risk and to provide information and advice on how people can help themselves. In this instance, the Agency takes the view that their operations will have had no adverse effects on river levels either in Medmenham or Marlow.
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§ Mr. GoodmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what effect the Jubilee River relief scheme has had on flooding in the Medmenham area and Marlow. [89763]
§ Mr. Morley[holding answer 13 January 2003]: The Jubilee River provides flood relief for Maidenhead, Windsor and Eton and several smaller villages nearby. Extra flood defences in the form of flood banks were constructed in Cookham to reduce the risk to this village. Marlow is 5 km upstream of Cookham and Medmenham further upstream and., as such, the Environment Agency takes the view that the Jubilee River has no impact, adverse or otherwise, on either community.