Syston Volunteers Shovel Brook Silt to Cut Flood Risk
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- Syston Community Flood Group deployed 19 volunteers who spent a day shoveling an estimated two to three tonnes of "absolutely solid" silt from Syston Brook's concrete-bottomed channel, with the Environment Agency then removing the waste.
- Syston suffered devastating winter floods in January 2024 and again in January 2025, providing the impetus for the summer cleanup during low water levels.
- The Environment Agency said it removed 380 tonnes of silt from the brook in early 2025 and plans to return later this year to complete further works, noting it routinely inspects the channel for blockages.
- Volunteers filled 20 brown bins with vegetation pulled from the waterway and handed them to Charnwood Borough Council for composting.
- Janette Hick of Syston Community Flood Group urged residents not to be complacent, warning "Mother Nature won't go away" and advising them to clear gullies and drains in autumn and consider flood barriers for their properties.
- Hick said the work was originally planned for last year but was delayed because there was "more water and a lot more stuff upstream that needed to be shifted first."
Why it matters: The volunteers' two-to-three-tonne haul is a fraction of the 380 tonnes the Environment Agency itself dredged from Syston Brook in early 2025, highlighting that community labor supplements but cannot substitute for the larger-scale agency work needed to protect Syston's homes and businesses from repeat winter flooding.
