Public meeting taking place in Billingborough over flooding earlier this month
People are meeting to discuss issues they've faced
A number of people whose houses flooded earlier this month are meeting in Billingborough to discuss the issues they've faced.
Across the county, it's thought almost 140 homes suffered internal flooding on the 6th and 7th January after the country saw heavy rainfall.
The meeting is taking place at Billingborough Village Hall from 6pm.
'The community spirit was brilliant'
Tom Wright's home in nearby Pointon flooded for a second year in a row on January 6th, and he had to evacuate with his 4-month-old twins:
"We woke up at about 6 o'clock in the morning to find that there was 2-3 inches of water downstairs.
"The immediate response was to get the children out to safety and then I tried to do what I could to save the contents of the house.
"Several of the houses that were hit 12 months ago were hit again- us included- whereas several of them were saved by the precautionary action of a group of people in the village.
"Those that live in houses that weren't vulnerable were all playing a part to help.
"The community spirit was brilliant- people were turning up without even being asked.
"There was people risking their own vehicles driving through the floods to pick up people who were stuck in their houses and move them somewhere warmer and safer.
"People filling the back of their 4x4s with sandbags and driving them round to help protect properties."
It comes following calls to reopen the decommissioned Black Sluice pumping station in Boston- which was closed back in 2018.
The Environment Agency said it does not believe the decision to shut the facility made a significant difference.
A spokesperson for the organisation said: “A modelling study completed in 2015 predicted high flood-risk in the South Forty Foot catchment, as was seen earlier this month.
"The operation of the Black Sluice Pumping Station was found to make only a small difference to this risk, and a multi-million-pound refurbishment of the station could not be justified or funded by either the Environment Agency or Black Sluice IDB."
“The model predictions informed the decision to decommission the station, allowing funding to be spent elsewhere to help reduce risk.
"This decision was agreed by Black Sluice Internal Drainage Board, the Environment Agency, Lincolnshire County Council, Boston Borough Council, and the National Farmers Union.
"Our teams are currently investigating the recent flooding to understand if the effects observed were consistent with the predictions of the 2015 study.
“With climate change driving more extreme weather, we are focused on protecting communities through improved flood warnings, resilient flood defences, better preparation, and long-term solutions like sustainable land management practices.”