Memorandum submitted by Peter Butterworth
(FL 144)
I understand that you have been appointed as
Chairman of the Environmental Select Committee Enquiry regarding
the floods this year. Having recently retired from the Environment
Agency after 31 years service I wondered if it would be appropriate
for me to give you a first hand account of the Flood Warning System
in the South East of the Environment Agency Wales?
You will find when you interview senior officers,
ie Management Team and Director Level you will not be told the
truth. Because they are completely out of touch with an issue
at ground level ie Flooding. They will rely on briefs and when
they get completely "out of their depth" please excuse
the pun, they will lie their way through the issue.
An example of this was yesterday morning 11
October 2007 Baroness Young gave an interview to BBC Hereford
& Worcester. She was asked about the flooding issues in Upton-upon-Severn:
the main issue was that the flood barriers for Upton could not
be erected because they were stored 20 miles away and when the
level of the flood raised, the delivery lorries were unable to
get through. Ms Young insisted that the flood barriers were stored
out of town as the request of the residents.
Yesterday evening 11 October 2007 Radio Hereford
& Worcester interviewed the residents' representative and
he confirmed that they wanted the flood barriers stored locally.
He commented that the Baroness was liberal with the truth.
This is only one example and I do not want to
waste your time. However, in my opinion your Select Committee
will not get to the truth of the flooding issues regarding the
Environment Agency unless you interview a group of employees and
ex-employees representing the EA in England and Wales.
I will give you a few examples of what is actually
happening in the South East area of the Environment Agency in
Wales.
1. Are you aware that a Flood Warning Officer
is paid a Standby Allowance during the whole period of a drought.
2. Management Team members earning £35k
to £70k stand on a bridge at night in Wales and shout through
a loud hailer to the local residents. They then take the next
day off in lieu to sleep. Therefore they are not "available"
when the telephone complaints come in and do not take the flak
from the public.
3. Management Team members are on the Flood
Warning rota because "it is a good little earner".
4. A Senior Flood Warning engineer £35k+
always works the night shift because he can double his monthly
salary and sleep all the next day.
5. Millions of pounds are being wasted annually
by the Environment Agency but all you will be given is the "party
line" on flood issues.
6. The Team Leader of Flood Warning does
not trust the telemetry system in place at a cost of millions
of pounds and therefore sends out other officers in the Agency
to check the manual reading. This could involve travelling from
St Mellons in Cardiff to the Elan Valley being a round trip of
approximately 180 miles in a car for which the Officer would receive
a mileage allowance.
Thank you for your time. If you would like a
more detailed report of wasted revenue in the Agency regarding
flood warning please contact me. If all the wasted revenue had
been used for Capital Flood Schemes more towns in England and
Wales could have been protected. I am quite prepared to give you
actual facts under oath.
Peter Butterworth
October 2007
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