]> 2026-04-21T10:33:25+00:00 Case study:Long Eau (Great Eau) 500 en Approved Creation of backwater Lincolnshire Chalk Streams Great Britain environmental stewardship scheme Yes No Yes false No 53.356271571523,0.11530076202394 Nick Lincolnshire Chalk Streams Elbourne ,Displacement of flood defences, Lowering of embankments,,Creation of backwater, ,,, 4346 Long Eau floodplain 2005 1996-01-01Z 2450083.5 DSC02373.JPG 1992 2448622.5 Complete Flowing from the Lincolnshire Wolds to the North Sea, the Long Eau drains a small catchment of 22.3 km2, but together with the Great Eau has a catchment area of 112.3 km2. Before restoration, the river had become embanked and channelised to protect adjacent agricultural land from flooding. The flood banks were steeply sloped directly into the channel. Dredging and removal of bankside vegetation was part of the maintenance regime, which had removed morphological features, in channel habitats and natural substrate. Historically the Long Eau had a history of washlands, regularly flooding the land adjacent to the river. Three sites were chosen along the Little ands Great Eau to demonstrate the relocation of flood banks and the provision of flood storage areas on neighbouring land. A secondary objective was to enhance habitats. An environmental stewardship scheme offered a ten year grant scheme to farmers/landowners, some of whom were already supportive of the idea of nature conservation. Long Eau at Manby- Left floodbank was lowered to just above ground level. The adjacent field was widened and flattened to act as an over spill area (1 in 10 slope). Material generated from embankment removal was used to infill and Internal Drainage Board drain which ran through flood storage area. This drain was re located behind the new embankment to maintain land drainage. The new embankment slopes were 3:1 to a height of 2.5-2.7 meters. Ledges and berms were created along the channel to increased habitat potential. Performance 1995-2001- Since completion flood protection has increased, as water spills onto new floodplain when channel reaches 2.6m or above. Below this level 75% of floodplain will retain water up to 0.5m for up to 4 months. This provides an important habitat for wetland birds. Lapwing and redshank have bred at the site. The Environment Agency estimates a saving of £400-500 a year on the previous maintenance regime. Long Eau (Great Eau) long eau (great eau) No 900 Witham Anglian Displacement of flood defences Lowering of embankments Long Eau long eau Long Eau at Manby long eau at manby 10 - 100 km² 110 100 - 200 m Long Eau GB105029061670 Flood risk management Habitat and biodiversity Land use management - agriculture 50 - 100 k€ GB105029061670 Long Eau 50 - 100 k€ 1995-07-01Z 2449899.5 1995-05-01Z 2449838.5 2012-11-15T11:56:14Z 2456246.9973843 2019-01-02T16:21:12Z 2458486.1813889 Long Eau (Great Eau) 500 1 plainlist 5 [[Category:Case study]] [[Project title::!Long Eau (Great Eau)]] [[Subcatchment title::Long Eau]] Long Eau (Great Eau)# QUERY23f33308e0794bae2acbd6b08924602a