Work will begin next week on defences to stop a repeat of the devastating floods which brought the administrative centre of Cumbria to a standstill last year.
The work is the culmination of a year-long study into flood risks on Carlisle’s rivers Eden and Petteril, following the worst floods on record in the city for more than 100 years last January. Before the flooding, the ~Environment Agency~ planned to improve the standard of protection, but the scheme was modified after consultations with ~Carlisle City Council~ and residents.
The revised scheme, which will be completed in 2008, will reduce flood risk to 1,500 properties in the Warwick Road and Botcherby area of Carlisle. The work will involve the reconstruction of embankments, making them wider and higher. New floodwalls will be built using cladding and materials suitable to the local environment, and a drain-down sluice will be added to drain away trapped water.
The work will also create a recreational area at Melbourne Park, which will provide a new habitat designed to attract more wildlife. The first stage of the work will begin on 16 May, and will be undertaken by contractor Volker-Steven. Work is also planned on tackling flooding from the River Caldew and Little Caldew, which also overtopped their banks last January. There are ‘lots of things to take into account from an engineering perspective’ for these watercourses because they run close to a railway line, according to the EA.
The agency is currently developing options for this second phase of the scheme and will be consulting with the public again in the summer. It plans to complete the Caldew and Carlisle City Flood Alleviation Scheme a year ahead of schedule, in 2010. A trial of temporary defences – for areas ‘unsuitable’ for permanent defences – which started in December had also proved ‘very successful,’ according to flood defence engineer, Gary Jones Wright. >> Joint solutions are needed to combat flood risk in Carlisle, according to a review for the Government.
Parties such as the ~Highways Agency~ the local authorities and Network Rail need to jointly investigate flood risk from all sources, and share the cost of solutions, according to a Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs’ report into reducing urban flood risk. Fluvial flooding should not be considered in isolation, given the contribution of urban drainage overflows to the floods last year, according to MWH UK. While it would take ‘some time’ to overcome challenges related to integrated funding, ‘it may take a little less time to change the prioritisation of measures,’ the report said.
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