Flooding survey will help plan for future

A total of 2,500 questionnaires have been delivered across the parish to find out how much residents know about their local water environment.

The Ouse and Adur Rivers Trust will be collating the information about flooding and water consumption.

Project officer Peter King explained: “The information gathered from these will help inform future resilience planning, as well as give an indication of the current public perception and awareness of the local water environment.

“The more we get returned, the better informed we will be, and all those received as paper or online copies will be entered into a free prize draw with a top prize of £50 of Marks & Spencers vouchers.”

The project is supported West Sussex County Council’s Operation Watershed Community Action Fund.

Mr King said: “With water so much in the news, this is an opportunity for the residents of Steyning to learn more about the water environment around the subjects of flooding, water quality and water usage, raising awareness and building future community resilience.”

The water fair will be held in the Steyning Centre, Fletchers Croft, from 10am to 4pm, with a programme of speakers between 1pm and 3pm.

Presentations will include Sussex Wildlife Trust wetland officer Fran Southgate speaking about natural flood management and Johnny Burke from Southern Water talking about supplying water to the community.

The event will see organisations including Southern Water, Sussex Wildlife Trust, South Downs National Park, Environment Agency, West Sussex Flood Resilience Team, the National Flood Forum, Campaign for the Farmed Environment, UK Rainwater Harvesting Association, South Downs Mineral Water, Passies fishing lakes and Organic Roofs come together under one roof to engage with the community through displays and presentations.

For more information on the speakers, times and organisations attending the Steyning Water Fair, go to www.oart.org.uk/steyningevent or email [email protected]