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==Flood defences== [[File:Judas Gap weir, River Stour, Suffolk.jpg|thumb|left|Judas Gap weir was rebuilt by South Essex Waterwork Co in 1948, as a condition for increasing the amount of drinking water extracted from the river.]] After the Navigation Trust declared itself bankrupt, the state of the river steadily declined, as locks decayed and fallen trees were not removed from the river. The lack of maintenance resulted in flooding of agricultural land, and so the [[Ministry of Agriculture]] created a Drainage Board responsible for flood control of the area in 1918. Three years later, they requested the Navigation Trust to remove the locks at Horkesley and Boxted, and to permanently open the paddles on the locks at Langham and Stratford St Mary, to aid the passage of water down the river. Numerous meetings took place over the following two decades, but little was achieved, and the river continued to deteriorate. Meadows near Flatford were regularly flooded by water passing up the south channel, and while tides passing up the north channel normally only reached Judas Gap, high spring tides could sometimes reach Flatford. The South Essex Waterworks Company wanted to extract more water from the river immediately following the Second World War, and this was granted on condition that they improved flood defences where the river reached the estuary. This work involved improving the weir at Judas Gap, and constructing a barrage across the south channel. It had 56 gravity-controlled gates, which could be used to allow fresh water to leave the river, but prevent salt water from entering it, and was known as the 56 Gate. Following its completion in 1948, land upstream of the 56 Gate was reclaimed for agricultural use.<ref name=defences>{{cite web |url=https://www.flatfordandconstable.org.uk/history-of-the-stour/salt-water-floods-and-flood-defences/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220518122140/https://www.flatfordandconstable.org.uk/history-of-the-stour/salt-water-floods-and-flood-defences/ |archive-date=18 May 2022 |url-status=live |title=Salt water, floods and defences |publisher=Flatford and Constable}}</ref> In the aftermath of the [[North Sea flood of 1953]], much thought was given as to how to protect coastal communities from such events, and in 1969 a new flood defence scheme was implemented. A dam with a sluice through it was built across the north channel below Cattawade Bridge at Brantham, while sluice gates were fitted across the south channel. The project also included building Cattawade Bypass, which travels over the flood defence dam at Brantham. These changes meant that there was fresh water habitat all the way down to the defences. A new weir containing a fish pass replaced the structure at Judas Gap, and this has resulted in the mill pond at Flatford always being fairly full, even in dry summers. The 56 Gate was no longer needed and the work, which was paid for jointly by Suffolk County Council and the Essex Water Company, was completed in 1971.<ref name=defences/>
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