Norfolk and Suffolk County Councils have been successful in winning £6.4 million to implement innovative sustainable water management projects.
Both councils placed a joint bid into Defra’s 6-year Flood and Coastal Resilience Innovation Programme and were 1 of 25 successful projects chosen to take part.
The joint project, named ‘Reclaim the Rain’ sets out to improve flood and drought resilience in at least six small rural communities across Norfolk and Suffolk.
Norfolk and Suffolk both face considerable surface water flood risk, while also being the driest region in the UK. The project will deliver beneficial flood water reuse by agriculture, industry, communities, and the environment combined with nature-based flood management solutions.
The project will involve both partner organisations and the community in the development of suitable flood water reuse schemes. The schemes will address the community’s needs in terms of flood risk and water resource requirements, and could result in provision of:
- Habitat creation and restoration;
- Rain Gardens;
- Rainwater Capture and Reuse for community, agriculture or business use;
- Retrofitted sustainable drainage systems (SuDS);
- Smart Leaky Water Butts and more…
Councillor Paul West, Suffolk County Council’s Cabinet Member for Ipswich, Operational Highways and Flooding, said:
“Flooding is a very real and challenging issue across many areas in Suffolk and there is much we are doing to minimise the plight this has our residents. This project will take our efforts to the next level by working with communities to capture that excess water and put it to good use. We live in the driest part of the UK, so every drop that falls on it is precious – any way that we can find a more sustainable use for this water will benefit us now and in years to come.
“I very much welcome the funding to enable us to do this, and congratulate officers and communities across the two counties, in what will no doubt be a fascinating and innovative 6-year programme.”
Councillor Martin Wilby, Norfolk County Council’s Cabinet Member for Highways, Infrastructure and Transport, said:
“This initiative looks set to offer innovative small scale local solutions to alleviate some of the widespread flooding issues so many people in Norfolk have experienced. This should complement the work already underway to build the Norfolk Strategic Flooding Alliance (NSFA) partnership to ensure communities and infrastructure are safer and more resilient to the risks of surface water flooding.
“We welcome this additional funding and would urge people to find out more about the Reclaim the Rain project and let us know what would help to manage and reuse water in their area.”
To find out more about Reclaim the Rain and how you can get involved, visit: www.reclaimtherain.org.
