Salford City Council 26th December 2015 Floods Sec 19 report Main - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Salford City Council 26th December 2015 Floods

Sec 19 report

• Main source of flooding was River Irwell
• 8 Boroughs affected
• It was agreed that the EA would lead on a combined

report

• Salford provided a complementary document

Flood Risk

Context

• Flooding occurred in 8 Boroughs within GM (only

Stockport and Trafford avoided flooding)

• Weather forecasts predicted storm would affect

Lancashire and Cumbria

• Any prediction is accurate to within 50 miles
• Storm deviated to the south

Rainfall Radar

Rainfall Details

• 128mm of rain in 36hours
• Average annual rainfall approx 881mm
• The catchment was already wet
• Instead of some soakage into ground, water was running
• ff into the drainage system and subsequently the River

Network

Effects of the rainfall

• Result was increased flow (amount of water travelling

along the River Irwell)

• Increased water levels
• 37 of 44 river gauges (level sensors) recorded highest

ever levels

• Manchester Racecourse recorded a level 1.3m higher

than the 1946 Flood (previous record)

River Levels

River Levels

River Levels

1946 Flooding

1946 Flooding

Flood Defences in Salford

• Littleton Road Flood Basin
• River Wall Network
• Additional defences

– Castle Irwell Flood Basin (Reservoir Panel Engineer approval pending) – Demountable barriers to be placed in Heath Avenue have been investigated but found not feasible by the EA

Littleton Road Basin

Littleton Road Basin

Littleton Road Basin

River Irwell Flood Basin

Activation of Basin

• The EA attended the Flood Basin and confirmed

activation

• Calls to call centre from approximately 09:00 that the

Basin was receiving water (public and Councillor)

• 10:30 Forward Incident Officer (FIO) advised that flood

basin had been activated by City Mayor

• 11:30 FIO liaises with Environment Agency and

residents, opens Sports Village and secures basin

• 12:00 flooding started to occur

Heath Avenue

Heath Avenue

Lower Broughton: effected areas

Flood Risk

Salford Impact

– 698 properties flooded in total – 500 residential – 198 businesses – Loss of riverside paths and walkways and damage to river banks – Damage to road and pedestrian bridges – Clean up and removal of all waste material – Excessive debris on banks – Damage to Agecroft Cemetery – Debris within Salford Quays

Support to Residents

• Council Tax exemption for the period that they are

unable to occupy their homes

• £500 flood relief payment to each affected household
• Salford Distress Fund established by the City Mayor
• A Property Level Resilience Scheme is in place – £5,000

(home or business)

Support to Businesses

• Business Rate relief for the period that they were unable

to trade

• The Business Support Payment scheme is being co-
• rdinated by the GM Business Growth Hub and Salford

City Council

• Businesses can also apply for the Property Level

Resilience Scheme (£5,000)

EA Modelling Exercise

• Computer modelling exercise is being undertaken by the

EA

• Model will confirm the cause of the flooding
• Modelling results will be used to clarify the impact of the

almost complete Castle Irwell Basin

Castle Irwell Basin

Castle Irwell Basin

Castle Irwell Basin

• The basin is nearing completion and due to be
• perational once signed off by a Reservoir Panel

Engineer

• Physical works are complete, grass cover to banks is

required prior to sign off

• Basin will operate in a similar way to the Littleton Road

Basin, water will enter the basin during high level events

• Positive effect on future events

Flood Basins

Castle Irwell Basin Flood Basin

Issues Raised

• “It is possible to prevent flooding.”
• “Salford was allowed to flood to protect other places.”
• “The sluices on the Manchester Ship Canal were used to

hold water back to protect a COMAH (Control of Major Accident Hazards) Site in Trafford.”

• “There are sluice gates at Salford Quays which can be

closed to protect Media City”

Issues Raised

• “Something went wrong which caused the flooding.”
• “The river wall is defective/failed and that is what caused

the flooding”

• “Dredging of the River Irwell would have prevented

flooding”

• “New housing developments within Broughton, built on

raised ground levels increased the flooding to existing housing”

Issues Raised

• “The David Lewis playing fields should have flooded to

protect property but this did not happen”

• “Boulders have been dumped in the Irwell which had an

impact on the flooding”

Summary

• Flooding caused by heavy rain resulting in high flows

and high levels in the Irwell

• The water level was higher than the wall in Heath

Avenue and flowed over the wall

• The Littleton Road Basin prevented worse flooding
• The Castle Irwell Basin increases protection from

flooding

Summary

• Castle Irwell Basin will be operational soon
• Lower Broughton remains at risk of flooding
• Flood warning service is in existence
• Resilience funding has progressed significantly but is
• ngoing
• EA modelling awaited