The Alde & Ore Association
Taking care of the
Alde & Ore Estuary
River defence
Without the river walls, the Alde and Ore Estuary cannot survive.
One of the Association’s primary objectives is to work to preserve the defences of the river. It does this by working as an active partner in the Alde and Ore Community Partnership (AOCP), through its River Defence Committee, which carries out annual surveys of the river walls, and by commissioning and publishing research.
River Defence Committee
The Alde and Ore Association set up the River Defence Committee in April 2007 at a time when the Association was the forerunner locally in pressing for additional Government expenditure on flood defences.
The River Defence Committee produces an annual photographic report on the state of the river defences (available below). These reports are sent to the Environment Agency to help them assess their capital and maintenance budgets for the following year.
Additional reports are produced after a major event such as the tidal surges that occurred in November 2007 and December 2013. The latter was, in many parts of the river, greater than the devastating surge experienced in 1953. Significant damage was experienced particularly on the coastal defences at Slaughden, Hazlewood Marsh was totally inundated and remains so, and Snape village had catastrophic damage with 27 houses badly flooded.
Our estuary and rivers, along with the coastline, are the defining natural features for our region. We all share a responsibility to look after them so that future generations can enjoy their unique character.
Join the Association today to help support our efforts to ensure that our local economy, homes and livelihoods are not washed out to sea.
Members who would like to assist with conducting a river walls survey are invited to contact us.
River bank flood cell reports 2025
The reports are available as dowloadable pdf files, grouped by flood cell.
FC1 – Hollesley pumping station to Butley Ferry
