The Environment Agency is leading the development of a strategy that will determine how flood risks around the Exe Estuary are managed over the next 100 years.
Studies are showing that action is needed to prevent these risks from increasing significantly due to the impacts of climate change and ageing flood defences.
Sea level is expected to rise over 300mm by 2060 which means that defences will be far more likely to ‘overtop’, features like Dawlish Warren more likely to erode, and important habitat may be lost.
The Agency want the new strategy for flood and coastal risk management to develop a programme of actions that will benefit both the environment and the people who live there, and targeted at the right places and at the right time.
‘We are working with several business partners, including local authorities, but we would also like to hear from anyone who has ideas about this issue or who wants to help shape the strategy,’ said Martin Davies for the Environment Agency.
There will be a formal consultation about the strategy, including an exhibition, early in 2013.
If you would like further information on the Exe Estuary Strategy then contact Martin Davies at the Environment Agency on 01392 316268.
If you represent or live in a community on the Exe Estuary and want to better understand the issues of climate change and sea level rise then you can call Jane Lavick, from the Living with a Changing Coast (LiCCo) project on 01392 316181.
The LiCCo project is a European funded project between partners in Dorset, Devon and Normandy in France. It aims to help coastal communities around the Exe Estuary to understand and prepare for the joint effects of sea level rise and climate change.
You can also visit the Environment Agency website for more information Go to http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/homeandleisure/floods/121323.aspx
