Environment Agency Admits Flood Warning was Mistake
On the morning of 6th January 2025 after heavy rain in the area the UK Environment Agency Issued a flood warning for Central Long Eaton and Sawley. A flood warning is a level at which the environment agency expect flooding to occur and is a warning to get prepared. This prompted parish councillors in Sawley to repost the warning on Facebook and to start discussions about the flood response.
However, looking more closely at the warning the text appeared to have been issued for the wrong area. Instead, it appeared it should have been issued to the Trent Lock and Sawley marina areas. Liberal Democrat, James Archer, raised this with the environment agency at the time. His message was passed on and the flood warning did get downgraded and a new warning issued for the Trent Lock and Sawley marina area, by the next morning. But he and the parish council received no confirmation that the first warning was a mistake. So there remained the possibility that it had been issued correctly due to a risk of flooding from the Erewash Canal or from the West Park Flood defences being overtopped. Both very serious issues if there turned out there was a risk of either happening.
In the event neither Long Eaton and Sawler nor indeed Trent Lock flooded after the 6th January warnings were issued, the later because the river did not quite reach the predicted level.
James followed up with the Environment Agency’s Flood team after the event and once the flooding threats across the country had died down to confirm that the warning was a mistake. After getting no response he turned this request into an official freedom of information request to get answers as to whether this was a mistake or whether there was a genuine threat, and what that threat was.
James can reveal that he now has received a response conveying the Environment Agency’s apology to the people affected by the flood warning issued for Long Eaton and Sawley which was indeed mistakenly applied to the wrong area. The mistake was human error and attributed to the number of flood warnings needing to be applied that morning.
James says: “This is both a relief that this was a mistake, and a worry that this sort of mistake could happen. A mistake that could lead to one area which is expected to flood receiving no warning and an area that isn’t expected to flood, being told to move all their electrical equipment to the first floor and turn off the mains.”
“I will be passing this on to our MP in order that he might ask questions at a higher level on why the system isn’t automatic and whether the Environment Agency has enough staff to cope with the number of Flood Warnings it is now having to issue.”
