This petition is to show support towards Farmer, John Price, from the Day House, Kingsland, and all riparian owners for the maintenance and removal of obstructions such as dead wood and silt from the rivers, brooks and streams to allow the watercourses to flow freely. 

Yearly maintenance on watercourses should be carried out across the UK by removing deadwood and trees from pinch points along meandering stretches of water courses.  Once an obstruction has been removed, in high rainfall the rivers will be able to hold more capacity, which, in turn, will reduce flooding.  After heavy rainfall, silt and debris, if not looked after, can cause river blockages (in JP’s case, the third arch “the flood arch” at the bridge over the River Lugg, Kingsland.)  

Due to the lack of river maintenance, we see these days, there seems to be an increase in flooding both on agricultural land and the flooding of homes causing a risk of life to both humans and animals.  Since the “flood arch” in Kingsland has been cleared out, the houses there are no longer being flooded after heavy rainfall.  Further upstream in the debris-filled Lugg, flooding is just as bad as before these works were carried out, likewise, downstream.

Ditches and land drains running into brooks and other tributaries should be encouraged to be maintained annually to allow the ground to be less as saturated than it currently is in places due to the lack of maintenance, which, as a result, has led to more surface run-off and an increase in flooding. 

After maintenance on watercourses the flooding is reduced. The flora and fauna along the watercourse banks will always continue to regrow, even after erosion on the banks, due to heavy rainfalls or flooding, have been dealt with, which may involve the re-profiling of them (the banks).
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