RWNS FLOODING 2021
4th February 2021
John Tackley, the President of River Weaver Navigation Society has made the following comments on the recent floods on the River Weaver .....
Our Society was involved in several discussions with the Environment Agency prior to the preparation of their Flood Prevention plans and their subsequent implementation. We have considerable background historical knowledge of previous flood emergencies and considerable understanding as we have five qualified engineers on our committee! Despite these consultations, our suggestions were not adopted, as we were told that, “their model,” (the EA model) showed that they would not be effective. We obviously could not dispute this, as we did not have the resources to produce a, “model,” of our own.
Our contention was that the primary requirement to minimise the flood risk IN NORTHWICH was to ensure that the Navigation Channel through the town down to the next flood control sluices located at Winnington, Barnton and Saltersford were maintained at least to the minimum depth determined by the River Weaver Trustees prior to the nationalisation of the River in 1948. The Trustees were concerned with the well-being of the river in toto, as it was managed, prior to nationalisation, superbly well, by local dignitaries for overall local benefit.
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