In the wake of Storm Babet which brought significant heavy rainfall across much of the UK, the Environment Agency has announced it will investigate the operation of the Horncastle Flood Scheme.

Friday 20 October saw at least a month's rain in 24 hours across Lincolnshire - at its peak there were 29 Flood Warnings and 32 Flood Alerts in place across the county.

This resulted in property flooding and in particular, in the town of Horncastle, where concerns have been raised about the operation of its flood storage area.

A sluice gate within the Scheme did not automatically operate as it should. This meant the flood scheme did not store as large a quantity of flood water as it was designed to. This is likely to have affected some properties near the River Bain.

The Environment Agency has made it a priority to find out what happened with the operation of the Horncastle Flood Alleviation Scheme.

The Environment Agency’s Chief Engineer has been asked by Phillip Duffy, Environment Agency Chief Executive, and Leigh Edlin, Area Director, to begin a thorough investigation, whilst the wider flood response incident continues.

Leigh Edlin Environment Agency Area Director said:

“We are aware that the Flood Alleviation Scheme did not reduce flood risk to the extent it was designed to. We will continue our investigation and ensure we learn from its findings.

“The Flood Alleviation Scheme is now being operated manually. Our teams remain on high alert and our Lincoln incident room is open 24/7, as the risk of flooding remains high in many areas.”

The Environment Agency is warning that although Storm Babet has passed the county’s river systems are still full, and the ground is saturated. Any further rain may cause rivers to react quickly and therefore the risk of flooding will remain high over the coming days as peaks move through the systems.