The Lincolnshire coast would not be able to function without continuous water and flood management. Much of the land sits at or below sea level, making it highly vulnerable to flooding from both the sea and waterways. Entire communities, local businesses, and the region’s agricultural sector depend on an intricate network of seawalls, embankments, drainage channels and pumps to keep the land habitable for over 60,000 people.
Today, the threat of flooding is real and ever present- without the sea defences, communities would be flooded every week.
Lincolnshire’s coastline represents a long history of human adaptation and ingenuity. Much of what we see today is a man-made landscape created over centuries. Farmers, salt producers and engineers transformed tidal areas into productive land and it has been continually adapting to environmental and social pressure since.
Communities worked together to build an intricate network of straightened watercourses, artificial drainage channels, pumping stations, gates, weirs and sluices that sit behind over 25km of man-made sea defences.
Change is embedded in the history of this coastline and the communities that call it home. This shared legacy of adaptation shows that we have the ability to meet today’s challenges and by working together, we can reshape our future to create a coast that continues to thrive for generations to come.