The Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management is calling for a reality check on floods and dredging in a newly-published report on the issue.

Introducing the report, CIIWEM said the floods seen over the Winter of 2013/14 have seen a very public call for more widespread dredging of main rivers and other watercourses in order to improve flood protection to those communities affected by events, particularly on the Somerset Levels and the Thames Valley. The Institution said this has now been taken up by senior Ministers and presented as an effective and widely applicable flood risk management solution. Expressing its concern at this development, CIWEM commented:

"..we are uneasy about the lack of science and evidence in public debate that surrounds the recent flooding and what might be done to mitigate future losses. In particular, claims that the widespread use of dredging can act as a flood prevention measure are not only unsupported by both science and evidence, they are a cruel offer of false hope to those living in flood-prone communities. That is why we are calling for a ‘reality check’ on flooding and dredging."

Floods and Dredging - A Reality Check takes an objective look at the role that dredging plays in managing water in the rivers and explains where dredging is an effective and appropriate measure and the circumstances in which its deployment will be far less effective and can even exacerbate flood risk, as well as causing ecological damage.

The report encourages a balanced approach, utilising a wide range of measures which should be deployed where they can deliver most benefit.  This includes dredging in certain locations, particularly those which are already heavily altered environments, but which has at its heart the principle of slowing water down in upper catchments to reduce the height and therefore impact of flood peaks. It also emphasises the need for a considered approach based on sound evidence and expert assessment to deliver the best levels of protection to communities.

CIWEM is calling for a more solutions-focused debate, saying that without a change in approach, it is inevitable that low lying land and communities will be exposed to greater risk of flooding.

The Insitution wants serious consideration to be given to an alternative, pointing towards many studies and practical schemes which in recent years have pointed the way to more effective methods for controlling flooding, by slowing the rate at which the landscape drains, and increasing its capacity to capture and store water.