22 April 2024
West Yorkshire organisations visit Leeds Flood Alleviation Scheme
Partners of West Yorkshire Prepared – the Local Resilience Forum (LRF) for West Yorkshire – recently visited Phase 1 of the Leeds Flood Alleviation scheme (Leeds FAS1) at Knostrop, to find out more about how it prevents serious flooding and protects homes and businesses.
The visit, which included representatives from Yorkshire Water, West Yorkshire Police, the Environment Agency and Leeds, Bradford and Kirklees Local Authorities, was arranged for the LRF Severe Weather sub-group, which meets quarterly to plan and prepare for the consequences of severe weather in West Yorkshire. Led by Stephanie Millar, Principal Engineer with Leeds City Council’s Flood Risk Management team, the visit gave attendees an overview of the first phase of the flood alleviation scheme, launched in 2017.
The scheme includes two state-of-the-art moveable weirs – one at Crown Point and one at Knostrop – which can be lowered to control river levels and create ‘more room’ in the river channels during periods of heavy rain to prevent flooding. The weirs, along with other interventions, help protect 3,000 residential properties and 500 businesses from flooding.
As well as these interventions, the scheme’s success can be attributed to the hard work of the LCC Flood Risk Management team working closely with the LCC Resilience & Emergencies team, the Environment Agency and the Canal & Rivers Trust. The scheme is monitored by LCC staff 24/7, 365 days a year, with regular tests to ensure it is ready to operate when needed.
The next phase in the Leeds Flood Alleviation Scheme (Leeds FAS2) aims to reduce flood risk and provide better protection for homes and businesses along the river Aire between Leeds City Station and Apperley Bridge. This phase is expected to finish later this year. Once complete, the whole scheme will help protect against events such as Storm Eva, which caused major flooding on Boxing Day 2015.
In addition to Local Authorities and other agencies carrying out works such as this to prevent and protect against flooding, there are some simple actions you can take to ensure you are prepared: