Editing River Welland (section)

===The Outfall===
Plans to re-route the outfall along a new channel which would meet the River Witham at The Scalp, near [[Boston, Lincolnshire|Boston]], were authorised in 1794, but the money could not be raised at the time, due to the financial crisis caused by the [[Napoleonic Wars|French Wars]].<ref name=boyes246/> Grundy's shorter channel had been finished by 1810, improving both drainage and navigation. James Walker reported in 1835 on further improvements, making the recommendation that the river below Spalding should be constrained between high banks, so that the scouring action of the water would dredge its own channel. Rather than excavating, which he estimated would cost £70,000, he suggested using [[fascine]]s made of thorn branches, around which silt would be deposited. Such a scheme would only cost £13,000, and the work went on for many years.<ref name=boyes248>{{harvnb|Boyes|Russell|1977|pp=248–250}}</ref> The effects of the embankments had resulted in the bed of the river below Fosdyke being around {{convert|7|ft|m}} lower by 1845.<ref>{{harvnb|Wheeler|Batty|1896|p=305}}</ref> In 1867, the River Welland Outfall Act enabled the trustees to raise money to repair the walls where the tide had washed away some of the fill behind the fascines. A dredger was employed between 1889 and 1890, which had been invented by a Mr Harrison, the superintendent of works.<ref name=boyes248/>

With the passing of the [[Land Drainage Act 1930]], the Welland Catchment Board was created. They had spent £91,537 on the outfall by 1937. Towards the end of the [[Second World War]], E. G. Taverner, the chief engineer for the drainage board, devised a plan to relieve flooding in Spalding by creating a bypass channel, and building the Greatford Cut to divert the waters of the West Glen river into the Welland upstream of Market Deeping. The scheme cost £723,000, with much of the work being carried out by [[W. & C. French]], and the Coronation Channel around Spalding was opened in September 1953.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.southhollandlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/AOS-D-0073b-The-River-Welland-Major-Improvement-Scheme-1947-1957-Part-2.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304071840/https://southhollandlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/AOS-D-0073b-The-River-Welland-Major-Improvement-Scheme-1947-1957-Part-2.pdf |archive-date=4 March 2016 |title=The River Welland major improvement scheme |publisher=South Holland Life |access-date=14 September 2015}}</ref> Fulney lock was constructed at the same time to exclude the tide from the upper river,<ref name=boyes248/> as was the Maxey Cut, an embanked channel that bypasses the villages of Market Deeping, Deeping Gate and Deeping St James.<ref>{{cite web|title=Welland Valley Landscape Character Assessment |url=http://www.peterborough.gov.uk/pdf/env-plan-ldf-cs-lcs-area3.pdf |page=40 |publisher=Peterborough City Council |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120308073354/http://www.peterborough.gov.uk/pdf/env-plan-ldf-cs-lcs-area3.pdf |archive-date=8 March 2012}}</ref> During the 1960s and 1970s, several sections of the river above Stamford were made straighter and deeper, to reduce the risk of flooding of agricultural land.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www2.le.ac.uk/departments/biology/people/harper/Welland%20Valley%20Partnership%20River%20Improvment%20Plan%2015.02.13%20FINAL.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210831001146/https://www2.le.ac.uk/departments/genetics/people/harper/Welland%20Valley%20Partnership%20River%20Improvment%20Plan%2015.02.13%20FINAL.pdf |archive-date=31 August 2021 |url-status=live |title=Enhancing the River Welland |publisher=Welland Valley Partnership |page=6}}</ref> To address the habitat and environmental issues causes by such engineering work, the Welland Rivers Trust, a [[limited company]] and [[charitable trust]], was set up in 2010. They are seeking to direct regeneration of the river by co-ordinating various organisations, which are known collectively as the Welland Valley Partnership.<ref>{{cite web |title=About Us |url=http://www.wellandriverstrust.org.uk/about-us/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211109222914/http://www.wellandriverstrust.org.uk/about-us/ |url-status=live |publisher=Welland Rivers Trust |archive-date=9 November 2021}}</ref> They published a major document outlining their proposals in February 2013,{{sfn|French|2020|p=3}} and by 2020 had completed 36 enhancement projects.{{sfn|French|2020|pp=47–60}}