Work is being done on the river from Coal End for 200 metres, from the Internal Drainage Board pumping station for 200 metres to the south of the Ancholme Way bridge and from Cadney Road to Pools End. The silt will then be spread on nearby farmland.
Although the works will reduce the risk of flooding in Brigg, Mr Russell said residents should still be prepared. He said: "The work will reduce the risk of flooding to properties in Brigg, but cannot completely remove it. We therefore urge people living in the town to be prepared and find out what action to take should the worst happen."
Brigg town mayor Ben Nobbs said he was pleased the project was being done. He said: "It has been long overdue and it is very welcome. There will be more flow on the Old River Ancholme now. At the moment, it has got to a point where because the Ancholme gets very shallow, the water has almost stopped completely.
"It is excellent. We thank them for doing it and it is good news."
Mr Nobbs said as well as reducing the flood risk, the work would be beneficial for users of the river. He said: "For some years, the Ancholme Users' Group have been complaining that it has been shallow in places. When the level of the water was dropped before Christmas, it got so shallow that the fish were literally beached. Boats haven't been able to go from Brigg up the river for some years. I hope all of the boat owners will take note of it and start to do the complete circuits around the island that they used to do."
This to me is very intersting. So dredging does not bring up unusable contaminated material then as it is goinng back onto the farmers fields. Take this a step further and build up the banks where required and real flood prevention measures occur. Of course, as noted above, dredging creates more of a channel for both water and boats to travel along.
DOes this mean that Bewdley may one day re-open to cruising traffic? Pressurising the EA now to finally handle our rivers more effectively sounds like a plan to me........