STAFF from the Environment Agency will be tackling flood blockages along almost 200 miles of South Yorkshire's rivers this winter as part of an effort to reduce flooding.
Workers will be walking the banks to inspect the watercourses, looking for objects that could cause flooding by blocking the channel or trapping debris and building up a dam.
The agency's operations staff tour all the main watercourses between Nov
ember and March and remove obstructions that can safely be pulled out.
However, objects such as trees and large flytipped items cannot be easily or safely dealt with, so staff have to return with lifting equipment at a later date.
Environment Agency operations manager Peter Holmes said: "We keep an eye on watercourses throughout the year looking for potential flooding problems, but in the winter we carry out intensive inspections.
"Sometimes we can clear blockages easily from the bank, but there are lots of other things that need more time and care.
"For example, large trees need to be carefully lifted from the channel and cut up into moveable chunks.
"Dumped vehicles can cause serious pollution problems if the petrol tank ruptures or oil escapes, so we need to be very careful.
"And sometimes we find potentially dangerous waste such as unlabelled drums or clinical waste that needs to be removed very carefully and investigated so it can be disposed of properly.
"The build up of waste in our rivers is not just unsightly, it can also greatly increase the risk of flooding."
"We can all do our bit by disposing of waste correctly, but if people do spot large obstructions that could result in flooding they can ring our incident hotline on 0800 80 70 60."
