Ripon flood warning service updated
30 Jun 2014 03:56 PM
Warning areas increased
following major flood defence works
The Environment Agency has
updated the flood warning service in Ripon following the £14.4 million
investment Ripon Flood Alleviation Scheme on the Rivers Ure, Skell and Laver
which includes the Laver Dam.
Using new modelling data, the
Environment Agency has split Ripon’s three existing flood warning areas
into five, providing more localised and specific warnings for
residents.
Warning areas have also been
expanded to include an additional 132 properties, and local flood warning
triggers have been fine-tuned to provide even more timely
warnings.
Flood Risk officer at the
Environment Agency, Zoe Pattinson said:
Following the significant
investment in Ripon by the Environment Agency, it is excellent news that we are
able to offer more specific warnings to the local community. The updated
warnings will be of even more use to people in Ripon, giving them more
localised and timely information that will allow them to better prepare for a
flood, should the risk be present.
The updates include extending
the service to include properties where essential access to properties is at
risk of flooding and removing other properties no longer at flood risk
following the construction of the new flood defences.
We have worked with Harrogate
Borough Council to improve the accuracy of the warnings sent, flood warning
areas been amended, increasing the timeliness of the warnings
sent.
This summer marks the second
anniversary of the construction of the dam at Birkby Nab on the River Laver.
The Laver Dam constricts the river flow to help reduce the amount of water
flowing through Ripon and has already been used on several occasions to help
reduce flood risk in Ripon.
The improvements to the flood
defences reduced the risk of flooding to 548 residential properties and 96
business properties. Here is some of the work that was completed in 2012, as
part of the £14.4m investment:
- Alma Weir has been lowered to
improve river flow and restore a more natural river gradient. Over the last few
weeks, the Environment Agency have been doing ongoing maintenance works to
remove gravel from the radar river level and flow gauge upstream of Alma
Weir.
- New earth embankments have been
built at North Bridge up to four metres high, two flood arches have been
cleared of debris underneath the bridge and sections of River View Road have
been raised.
- At Fisher Green, one-metre high
embankments and gabion walls have been built along the river
bank.
- Along Borrage Lane, an
embankment was built behind 15 properties to create a continuous line of
defence to strengthen and fill in gaps in the previous piecemeal
defences.
The Environment Agency’s
flood maps show the risk of flooding for all types of land. The flood warning
areas are specific to every community and more information can be found on our
website.
If you are concerned about
getting insurance for your property, you can find advice on the Environment
Agency’s website and through the National
Flood Forum or call 01299 403055.
Although this work has been
done, the risk of flooding can never be completely removed. This is where it is
important for residents to be aware of the flood risk posed to their properties
and consider how to minimise the impact of flooding if it was to
happen.