EA misses its flood defence targets

21 Jun 07
The Environment Agency is still not plugging the leaks in flood defences, according to the National Audit Office.

22 June 2007

The Environment Agency is still not plugging the leaks in flood defences, according to the National Audit Office.

A report published on June 15 shows that the agency has not met its target of maintaining 63% of England's flood defence systems in acceptable condition.

Since 2001, the agency has taken on greater oversight of flood risk in England, including the management of important rivers.

Auditor general Sir John Bourn said: 'If the agency has any chance of meeting its future targets, it must now focus more consistently on improving the condition of its high-risk flood defences. Its work in the best-performing regions shows that this is possible.'

The NAO says that the EA has protected more people by improving the standard of flood protection for 100,000 households between 2003/04 and 2005/06, improved its management of flood defence construction projects, and developed a more rigorous system for monitoring the condition of flood defence assets.

But it points out that the general conditions of assets has not improved significantly. The agency is asking for an extra £150m a year to improve all flood defences. The NAO says the EA's work could be more cost-effective, and said it had no overall strategy for defences managed by third parties.

PFjun2007

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