Section 3 below sets out the Board's plans for reducing or managing the flood risk in the Board's District.

The Board will assist the Environment Agency wherever possible in its provision of adequate and cost effective flood warning systems, integrating with the Agency in response to flood emergencies and participating as necessary in exercises to develop and test emergency response procedures.

• In meeting its obligations the Board will consider its activities within the wider natural and developed environment seeking to ensure the avoidance of any adverse impact. It will equally co-operate with other drainage authorities and organisations to ensure adverse impacts on the drainage district do not arise as a result of other activities.

• The Board will carry out its maintenance and improvements works in an efficient and cost effective way and where appropriate use best practice and accessing appropriately qualified advice when necessary.

• To achieve this the Board will encourage the provision of adequate, economically, technically and environmentally sound and sustainable flood protection and water level management measures and seek to control that development which could increase the risk of flooding.

• Within the drainage district potentially all the area is at some risk of flooding and the Board will seek to retain this risk at acceptable levels through appropriate improvements and the implementation of a sound maintenance strategy. The Board will also seek to ensure that the Environment Agency maintains at a satisfactory standard any flood defences which also afford protection to the district.

The potential impact on flood risk through future development in the Drainage District, or in the wider catchment draining to the District, is fully recognised by the Board and it will take an active role in the assessment of structure planning, local plans and individual applications to ensure flood risk is not increased. Where appropriate the Board will secure from Developers, and other direct beneficiaries, contributions to cover the cost of both immediate and longer term works necessary to ensure that any potential increase in flood risk is removed.

Pumping Stations

The Board owns/operates five Pumping Stations. They are:-

1. Downes Ground Pumping Station (built early 1950s) situate at North Airmyn. This Station contains three impeller pumps which pump directly into the River Aire. There is a gravity pipe at this Station but because of its position it is not currently used. This Station is also served by an automatic weed screen cleaner. This Station has recently been refurbished to ensure the viability of the site for some 15-20 years.

2. Hook Clough Pumping Station (built 1974) situate at Westfield Banks (beneath M62 Ouse Bridge). This Station contains two impeller pumps, with space for an extra pump, which outfalls directly into the River Ouse. There is a gravity pipe situated at this Station which assists in the disposal of water from the drain when the tide is low. This Station is also served by an automatic weed screen cleaner. This Station has recently been refurbished to ensure the viability of the site for some 15-20 years.

3. Orchard Cottage Pumping Station (built 1974) situate at Dutch Riverside, Old Goole. This Station contains two impeller pumps and one submersible pump, which outfall directly into the River Don. There is a gravity pipe which assists in the disposal of water from the drain when the tide is low.

4. New Potter Grange Pumping Station (built 1974) situate at Oak Hill. This Station contains two Archimedes screw pumps which lift all the water from the drain and push it into a higher location towards Orchard Cottage Pumping Station. This Station is also served by an automatic weed screen cleaner.

5. Southfield Lane Pumping Station (built 1998) situate at Mayfield. This is a small Station containing two small submersible pumps. These lift the water from beneath the nearby railway line and surrounding area and push it towards Hook Clough Pumping Station.

Watercourses

The Board is responsible for a total of 13.75 miles of drains. None of the drain are currently classified as critical watercourses as defined by the Environment Agency.

Critical Watercourses. However, the Board maintains 3.6 miles of the Board's Drains to a standard equal to that defined by the Environment Agency are critical ongoing watercourses.

Below is a list of watercourses duly maintained by the Board to the level as defined by the Environment Agency:

1. Hook Drain at a point from the public footpath situated beside the former Westfield Hospital travelling east into the village of Hook. This includes Hook Drain South, Hook Drain East and Hook Drain North, a total distance of 2,200 metres.

2. Towns Drain South. From M62 westbound south west passing the north west side of Goole to Parsons Lane Drain, a total distance of 1,500 metres.

3. Southfield Lane Drain. From Southfield Lane Pumping Station north to Long Lane, Hook, a total distance of 750 metres.

4. Blenheim Drain. From Thorntree Lane, Goole east to Southfield Lane, Hook, a total distance of 500 metres.

5. Westfield Drain. From Cobblers Lane north to Hook Drain, a total distance of 540 metres.

6. Potter Grange Drain. From Larsen Road, Goole (Industrial Estate) south to Potter Grange Pumping Station, a total distance of 1,624 metres.

There are no raised embankments within the Board's area.

Adjacent to the District are the following assets maintained by the Environment Agency namely:

Main rivers all of which are tidal:

1. River Ouse
2. River Aire
3. River Don

The tidal defences have also been improved at the Goole Docks where the dock gates have been renewed/improved and heightened.

The Board will exercise as required its powers under the Land drainage Act 1991 and its Byelaws to ensure that activities in and alongside its drainage system do not reduce flood protection standards and unnecessarily increase flood risk.

Through the operation and maintenance of the pumping stations and the channel system the Board seeks to maintain a general standard capable of providing flood protection to agricultural land and developed areas of 1 in 20 and 1 in 100 years respectively. This likely return period cannot be taken literally and should be considered in the light of there being a chance of some overspilling from the system taking place each year as being 5% and 1% respectively.

The Board monitors the condition of its pumping stations and watercourses, particularly those designated as critical, overspilling from which could affect property. Consistent with the established need, a routine maintenance programme is in place to ensure that the condition of the assets is commensurate with the standards of protection which are sought. Where standards are not at the policy level, improvement works, where they can be demonstrated to meet with MAFF criteria, will be considered and undertaken as appropriate.

The Board welcomes from its agricultural ratepayers, special levy Council and members of the public any comments on the condition of its system which could lead to any increased flood risk.

The Board will seek to promote the need for works in its District and create a rational understanding among people who live and work in it as to what the flood risk is and the efforts made to control it. The Board will also seek to achieve directly and through Local Councils a culture within which the watercourses are seen as vital to controlling flood risk, whilst providing an interesting aquatic habitat, and dissuade abuse of them through dumping waste or obstructing flows in other ways. The Board will publish its proposed annual programme of capital and maintenance work by way of advertisement in newspapers circulating in the Board's District and in reports kept at the Board's office for inspection by interested members of the public.

Much of the Board's watercourse maintenance work comprising vegetation control and de-silting is a vital and routine requirement. Whilst inevitably some short term impact will arise, this management is also essential to the maintenance of the diverse aquatic habitat in the Board's Drainage District. However, it should be noted that the Board maintains only a proportion of the total watercourse length in the District, the majority being the responsibility of the riparian land owners.

When carrying out works, be it maintenance or improvement, and consistent with the need to maintain satisfactory flood protection standards, the Board will aim to:

• avoid any unnecessary or long term damage to the natural habitats

• ensure no net loss of habitats covered by Biodiversity Action Plans, monitoring any gains and losses and reporting annually to the Environment Agency

• take appropriate opportunities to enhance habitats.

DATED this TWELFTH day of MARCH 2001

1. Strategy for Flood and Coastal Defence in England and Wales MAFF and Welsh Office, September 1993

2. High Level Targets for Flood and Coastal Defence Operating Authorities and Elaboration of the Environment Agency's Flood Defence Supervisory Duty MAFF, November 1999.