Opinions are still divided over whether the Jubilee River is a success or not. While it was hailed as the saviour of over 1,000 Maidenhead homes in the floods of Janary 2003, residents downstream in Wraysbury and Datchet had a very different view. There, 500 homeowners faced catastrophic flooding and pointed the finger of blame firmly at the Jubilee River which, they said, had dumped excess water literally on their doorsteps, causing huge amounts of damage and rendering homes uninhabitable.
Amongst all the resulting tears, recriminations and conspiracy theories (“Why the Environment Agency wants the Jubilee River to fail…”), some facts emerged. Investigations revealed that the channel was carrying only around two-thirds of its original planned capacity. Some experts consider that this is due to the innovative ‘soft’ design of the drainage scheme, one of the largest ever built, which despite including highly unusual engineering features such as a convex weir, apparently facing the wrong way, is astonishingly natural in appearance. This makes it very difficult to predict the capacity of the channel. In addition, it was discovered that the clay core of the channel was already breaking down, making further work necessary to ensure that the flood bank would not fail. At the beginning of this year, Ian Tomes, area flood risk manager for the Environment Agency, told the Maidenhead Advertiser that the remedial works had now brought capacity up to “almost its original design”. When the flood warnings sounded last month, it seemed that this was to be the first real test of these improvements. So, would it pass this time?
The answer appears to be a qualified “yes”. There was no serious flooding of the area downstream from Maidenhead. Even Wraysbury escaped. Local news media quoted one resident there as saying: “Events of last week… with the Jubilee River successfully carrying vast amounts of water safely downstream past Wraysbury to the sea… must surely show [it] has been a resounding success.”
However, the overall situation was very different from the conditions that brought about the flooding in 2003. July’s heavy rainfall over the western side of England meant that the Thames filled up at an alarming rate near its source but this time there was enough capacity lower down in the valley to avoid flooding. By the time the predicted Upper Thames ‘surge’ arrived in Berkshire, flood warnings on tributaries such as the Kennett, Loddon and Thame had been reduced and the floodplain around Windsor and Maidenhead had not become saturated either by floodwater or fresh rainfall. No flooding, here, then – but no real test of the Jubilee River either.
Meanwhile, improvements are still being planned to ensure that the channel is fully ready for flooding in the future. Three options are under consideration: waterproofing the river face of the existing embankment, rebuilding it, or installing a line of steel piles to strengthen it. The Environment Agency says: “Although we are concerned enough about the condition of the flood bank to carry out this work, the chances of it not doing its job are very slight.” Let’s hope they complete the work before a real test comes along.
Gill Holloway
