A Royal Commission in 1927 considered the part played by the various types of drainage bodies , and the Land Drainage Act 1930 sought to unify these , by creating Catchment Boards , responsible for the main rivers , and internal drainage boards , responsible for the drainage of low-lying areas such as the Fens . The Act also expanded the Fourth District to include the area formerly managed by the Skirbeck Court of Sewers , and the Witham Fourth District IDB became the responsible body for drainage from 1 April 1935 . Thorpe Culvert pumping station was built and commissioned in 1938 , to pump water from the 5000 acres into the Steeping River . Rennie 's tunnels were retained , but water only passes into the East Fen at low flows , and a sluice protects the upstream entrance to the tunnels . Upgrading of Lade Bank pumping station from steam engines to oil was completed in 1940 , with new equipment consisting of three Ruston diesel engines connected to Gwynnes pumps , installed in a new building . The old building was retained , although the steam engines which if housed were scrapped . Soon after the Second World War , plans for a pumping station at Hobhole sluice , to replace the gravity outfall , were approved , and the station was fully commissioned in 1957 . The disastrous North Sea flood of 1953 , which affected so much of the East Coast of England had little effect in the Fourth District
North Sea flood of 1953
North Sea flood of 1953
Witham Navigable Drains