The Environment Agency will be starting annual work tomorrow to reduce the risk of flooding for Lincolnshire’s coastal communities.
Sand will be topped up on beaches between Saltfleet and Gibraltar Point costing over £7 million. This annual beach management work involves dredging sand from licensed seabed areas and pumping it onto beaches, replacing the sand naturally lost to the sea throughout the year, EA said.
Over the next 4 to 5 weeks, around 300,000 cubic meters of sand will be topped up. This reduces the risk of flooding for 20,000 homes and businesses, 24,500 static caravans and 35,000 hectares of land.
“ Replenishing the sand means that the beaches, instead of hard defenses like sea walls, take the brunt of the waves’ force and energy. This reduces the amount of damage and erosion to the hard defenses and lessens the risk of water overtopping them ,” EA said in its announcement.
The Agency has been restoring sand levels on the Lincolnshire coast every year since 1994.