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For Those in Peril |
No, this is not a ship on a stormy sea
 but Mill Cottage,
Egremont, threatened by the rising level of the River Ehen after torrential
rain in the early hours of 11th October. The firebrigade came to the aid of
Kath and Ron Hewitson when a few inches of water seeped into their living
room, which they had prudently left uncarpeted, and over the road Mary
Armitage's garden was partially flooded. Though damage was not nearly as
serious as it was in 2005, when many houses in Bridge End, Vale View and
Bleach Green were flooded with filthy water and Dryden Way and Croadalla
Avenue were befouled with overflowing drains, it was a nasty reminder of the
power of the river. Mary Armitage had noticed the menacing level of the river late on the previous evening, and, althoug there had been no official warning from the Environment Agency, she spent the night anxiously watching the waters rise until they were only eight inches below the highest point of the arches. By 3am the Environment Agency sent out a rather belated warning and Copeland Council's emergency procedures were activated. Sandbags were brought to Old Bridge and Bridge End at 5.30am, and householders frantically set to work protecting their properties. The crisis point was reached at the time of high tide, at 7.30am, and Mary was immensely relieved to see the river subsiding by a few inches as it was able to find a passage out to sea. Though rain continued throughout the day, and a state of alert was maintained, the next high water in the evening never threatened a similar crisis. Only a few months earlier Copeland MP, Jamie Reed, had met a group of families living in this area to see for himself a potential danger. Rocks and gravel had built up a substantial bank in the river just to the West of the bridge and clearly presented a danger by preventing the easy escape of rising waters. Jamie immediately wrote the Environment Agency who explained that their plan to remove gravel from the river had been thwarted by unusually high river levels throughout the summer, and that no work is permitted between October and May to rpotect migrating fish. The letter to Jamie concludes that this work will be given high priority as soon as restrictions are lifted on 1st June 2009. Both Jamie and local councillors will be watching this situation carefully to ensure that there no unnecessary delays after 1st June. |