Installation laid bare on dunes' back side
Elements of a flood defence scheme designed to stay buried under sand even under storm conditions have been exposed due to recent storms.
The scheme, funded jointly by the Environment Agency and Teignbridge District Council, cost £12 million and as well as building up the beach at Dawlish Warren, should protect 2,900 homes around the River Exe from flooding.
Completed in October 2017, the beach management scheme made it through storms right up till Ciara and Dennis hit this month. Now a 460-metre 'geotube' - a great black slug buried in dunes at the 'neck' of Dawlish Warren - is exposed to the elements. And there's been a lot of element to be exposed to recently. The geotube, filled with concrete, is buried in the back side of the dune [insert your own joke here] - and is now exposed for all to see. Its job is to reduce the impact of waves entering the Exe Estuary and damaging infrastructure and property. To that extent, it appears to have worked. Whilst storm damage has affected many areas of the country, including in the south west, Exe Estuary villages and towns have remained relatively dry.
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