Flood alleviation scheme completed in Littleborough

Photo: Hayley Power

Flooding in Littleborough

Two new storage reservoirs, to alleviate flooding, have been completed in Littleborough.

The reservoirs at Springfield Avenue and Townhouse Road, which together can hold 12,000m3 of water, the equivalent of 20 swimming pools, will reduce local flood risk and also help with flooding issues in the wider area.

Water from the Calder Brook, one of the main waterways which feeds into the River Roch, is stored in the flood basins by use of a regulator and released back into the brook when it can drain away without causing local flooding downstream.

The project is the latest in a series of flood alleviation measures around the borough. The Environment Agency has recently removed 150 tonnes of gravel around John Street in Rochdale, reducing flood risk, while plans are being finalised to install two new debris screens on Sudden Brook, Rochdale and Butterworth Hall Brook in Milnrow in early 2017. Repairs are now complete on a flood wall in Littleborough, with improvements also made to local drainage.