Sussex flood management project paying 'huge dividends' in River Ouse catchment

The Sussex Flow Initiative (SFI) is a natural flood management project that works with the environment to reduce flood risk within the catchment area of the River Ouse.

It is a partnership project that includes Lewes District Council, Sussex Wildlife Trust, the Woodland Trust and Environment Agency, supported by local groups such as the Ouse and Adur Rivers Trust.

A review report of the initiative's work showcased the extensive project work the SFI it had delivered, leading councillors and working partners to gather this week to celebrate the work of the management project.

Councillor Matthew Bird, cabinet member for Sustainability at Lewes District Council, said: “I have worked closely with the SFI for a number of years and this five-year report brilliantly captures the outstanding work that has been achieved.

“Nature based solutions are integral to tackling biodiversity and the climate crisis we are facing and through the SFI that conviction is paying huge dividends within the River Ouse catchment.”

Over the last five years, the Sussex Flow Initiative has constructed 568 leaky dams, to hold back approximately 586,000 litres of water per rainfall event, and planted 65,000 native trees creating 8.7 hectares of woodland.

The project has also created 16.8 million litres of seasonal water storage - providing wetland habitat for wildlife – and reconnected nearly five hectares of floodplain, which will store approximately 9.9 million litres of water.

Sam Buckland, Sussex Flow Initiative Project Officer at the Sussex Wildlife Trust, said: “I’m immensely proud of what has been achieved over the last five years and also grateful to the many partners, community groups and individuals who have done so much to help make it all happen.

“Seeing water spreading out across a newly reconnected floodplain is magical. When we remove unnecessarily constructed flood banks that have confined flood water in a river for decades, we free up millions of litres of natural flood water storage which helps to stop it flowing downstream to properties at risk.”