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The Environment Agency manage over 10 000 km of raised flood defence assets (embankments, walls and structures) in England and Wales. These assets are managed to minimum targets that are expressed as a condition grade: a number between 1 (Very Good) and 5 (Very Poor) that is determined by visual inspection according to the Condition Assessment Manual. This paper discusses the good performance of the defences during the flood events of summer 2007: 1000 km of defences were tested, about 500 km was overtopped, but only four breaches occurred. The events have also shown that breaches can have various causes and that condition grade is only one indicator of performance. The paper then presents an analysis of the fragility of defences leading to the conclusion that in most cases, lower minimum condition grades are acceptable. This should enable more effective use of limited available funds, for example for data collection, analysis or improvement works.

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Lincolnshire's coastal floodplain is home to over 200 000 people in communities that range from small villages to the port town of Boston. It contains much of the country's best agricultural land and annually generates £400 million from tourism, but is very low-lying, defended by raised sea defences and maintained by pumped drainage systems.Major coastal flooding would impact severely on local communities and businesses, which presents a significant challenge when planning for future growth and regeneration. Lincolnshire's Coastal Change Pathfinder explored approaches and solutions to this challenge that would be strategically sustainable, and have the support of the diverse communities within the coastal environment. Fundamental in this was raising awareness of flood risk in ways that were accessible to a wide range of communities, but also left a legacy of better public and business understanding of coastal flood risk, along with greater capacity to respond to it in the longer term.