THE Environment Agency teams in the Black Country have completed their training with new equipment in a bid to prevent flooding.

In Halesowen September 2008 more than 80 residents were forced to flee flats and houses after the Illey Brook and River Stour burst their banks - many did not move back in until 2009 following an extensive clean up operation.

The Halesowen Flood Committee was set up and Dudley Council and the Environment Agency have done extensive work, including clearing the debris in Illey Brook and installing an early warning camera to prevent a repeat of 2008's damage.

The Environment Agency has just completed Exercise Certus which involves around 1000 staff from across the country, and designed to test that teams can respond more rapidly and flexibly to future flooding following the government’s National Flood Resilience Review.

The exercise includes staff from across the West Midlands testing temporary barriers and plans for a new ultra high volume pump (uHVP) which can move a tonne of water per second.

The pump is one of 20 new pumps stored around the country, which can be moved where needed during flooding.

As well as new equipment, the Environment Agency has awarded a one year contract to Stobart Group to store, track, and transport its 40 kilometres of temporary barriers and other mobile equipment.

The contract will include use of the Stobart Group’s network of resilience centres, distribution centres and extensive fleet of over 3,000 trucks.

Stobart Group will be working with the Environment Agency to provide a 24/7 logistics support service throughout the year assisting the Environment Agency before, during, and after flooding.

Lisa Pinney MBE, area manager said: “I’ve seen for myself the devastating impact that flooding has on lives and livelihoods.

"Our staff have already put a huge amount of work into helping communities recover from last winter’s floods and reducing flood risk to thousands of homes."

She added: “Now we are rising to the challenge of responding to flooding as extreme weather becomes more common: In Exercise Certus our teams have been training with new kit, including flood barriers, pumps, and vehicles so that we can respond more rapidly and flexibly.

“We welcome the contract with Stobart Group that will make us more resilient and improve our ability to get the right equipment to the right places at the right time – helping us to better-protect more communities more of the time."