Blue Heart

Blue Heart is a project that will provide an understanding of the local water catchment and how it works. It will communicate the risk of flooding to the communities of Eastbourne and south Wealden. East Sussex County Council has been successful as one of 25 project areas to secure funds under Defra’s £150 million Flood and Coastal Resilience Innovation Fund (FCRIP). With support from the University of Exeter, Blue Heart will be led by East Sussex County Council in partnership with; the Environment Agency, Pevensey and Cuckmere Water Level Management Board, Eastbourne Borough Council, Wealden District Council and Southern Water. Over a six-year period from 2021, Blue Heart will mitigate the impact of flooding caused by climate change through technology to manage and monitor water levels in Eastbourne and south Wealden. Blue Heart will build a smart integrated water management system that gives warning of heavy rainfall, will calculate the most the optimum response and issue flood warnings and alerts where necessary. This technology will trigger watercourses, ponds and lakes to release water so they are ready to contain incoming storm water. With local organisations and communities, we're exploring how to be more sustainable using water, smarter about how we manage it, and to help everyone to be 'flood ready'.