New pumps to protect the Fens

This picture shows the incredible size of the biggest pumping station ever built in Britain - that's a skip in the bottom left of the image.

It's being built on the Middle Level Drain at St Germans, near King's Lynn, to protect half the Fens from rising sea levels and increasingly-frequent storm surges.

When it becomes operational next February, it will be able to shift 1000 tonnes of water a minute.

The Middle Level Drain is fed by a system of drains stretching miles inland, including the Sixteen Foot, Forty Foot, Old Nene and Popham's Eau.

It protects tens of thousands of homes and thousands of hectares of low-lying farmland, much of it below sea level, from flooding.

When the drainers reclaimed the Fens, they created mile upon mile of waterways which centuries later have become a Mecca for pike anglers.

But they didn't realise the peaty soil would shrink as it dried out. And parts of the area are now 20ft below mean high tide levels.

Club tightens bylaws to deter fish killers

King's Lynn Angling Association, the biggest club in the Fens, today revealed bylaw changes in a bid to tackle fish being removed in numbers for food.

It's changed its bylaws to make it clear no fish are to removed from the waters it controls, which include parts of the Great Ouse, River Wissey, Little Ouse, Middle Level Drain, Cut Off Channel and Relief Channel.

The wording on permits and day tickets has been changed, while signs have been put up at club venues.

Officials believe the move allows a private prosecution to be taken out against anyone caught removing fish. It comes after fish were removed in numbers from Lynn AA waters.

Livebaiting is still allowed, provided they are used on the water where they have been caught.

Work begins on new Fens pumping station

Work has started on Britain's biggest pumping station which will protect tens of thousands of homes in the fens from flooding.

When it becomes operational in 2010, the new station on the Middle Level Drain at St Germans, near King's Lynn, will also increase run-offs on the entire Middle Level system, which stretches inland as far as March and Chatteris.

The existing Pumping Station, built in 1934, is a familiar landmark for pike and zander anglers.

The horn signalling its pumps are about to start up is soon followed by the drain shivering and then picking up flow, before water levels begin to visibly drop.

Its six existing pumps can shift 70 tonnes of water a second, but the Middle Level Commissioners say global warming, rising sea levels the age of the current station mean its operating life is coming to an end.

In April 1998, the station was pushed to its limits after heavy rains inland were followed by high tides and a north easterly gale.

It was forced to operate non-stop for 50 hours and if one of its pumps had failed a flood would have occurred with disasterous consequences.

The new station will have a 40% increased capacity giving it the ability to pump 100 tonnes.

Building work is now in progress on the massive coffer dam needed to protect the site before work on the new station, downstream of the present plant, can begin.

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