Drainage
Managing drainage and water levels in your area Do you know what an IDB is and do you have one managing the drainage and water levels in your area? On behalf of the ADA, Innes Thomson explains Many of us live our lives supported by a where watercourses and land drainage wide range of acronyms. Whilst some of infrastructure are collectively managed these are familiar, such as the NHS or the and maintained with the input of the local AA, most are quite alien outside of one’s community. IDBs occur in those parts of direct sphere of influence, and frankly England where there is a special need complete gobbledegook to the majority of for land drainage, undertake work to people. Despite this, let me introduce you reduce flood risk to people, property and to one acronym that, at over 80 years old, infrastructure, and manage water levels has not only survived the tests of time, but for agricultural and environmental needs. is an increasingly important part of local Most IDBs were established by the Land public life given our changing climate. Drainage Act 1930, but their forerunners Yet it is one that few are aware of, that date right back to the 13th century when is unless, you pay rates to them for the Henry III established a drainage commission wellbeing of seeing your local watercourses to manage water levels on Romney Marsh well maintained and managed. in Kent. And on the interesting I refer of course to our subject of history, we have illustrious IDBs, or to give recently come across them their full name, Scotland’s one and only Collect Internal Drainage Drainage Commission IDBs inv ively, Boards. These are a still serving the Pow of type of local public Inchaffray, in Perthshire, £65 mi est over llion a authority serving areas whose origins date
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back to the Middle Ages, with a helping hand from Robert the Bruce along the way! There is also a distinct Dutch influence in IDB history through Cornelius Vermuyden, a Dutch water engineer commissioned by the king in the 17th century to drain water and reclaim land from marshy tracts of the East of England. In doing so he did however nearly lose his head to Charles I, through the ‘treacherous’ act of destroying good hunting grounds. Thankfully today such grievances in water management can be resolved through a slightly more civil consultation process! We also have other stories to tell. For example, the Black Sluice IDB that serves the Lincolnshire fens south of Boston, takes its names from a time when locals commoners, who did not appreciate water being controlled, tried on various occasions to burn down the then wooden sluice gates, hence the description ‘Black’ Sluice.
