A cleaner and greener borough with the Environment Agency

Date published: 15 March 2022

Hello from everyone at the Environment Agency and welcome to our latest round-up exclusively for Rochdale Online. February ended in one of the most remarkable and intense ways as three winter storms hit the country in less than a week. 

As storms Dudley, Eunice and Franklin blew in and many of us braced ourselves again and again, our teams here at the Environment Agency went straight into incident mode.

This month, we are using our round-up to take a look back at our response and how we are now moving forward with recovery.

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The clear up after the storm

Our teams have been extremely busy over the last few weeks dealing both the potential for flooding and aftermath of the recent storms. Our Flood Warning and Forecasting teams were working hard around the clock, monitoring and forecasting river levels – which led to a Flood Warning being issued for Littleborough during Storm Franklin.

Then, on Sunday 20 February many of us held our breath as a severe flood warning - which indicates a danger to life – was issued for communities close to the River Mersey in Greater Manchester

Our operational teams worked throughout the night operating both Sale and Didsbury flood storage reservoirs and keeping water away from the communities they protect.

Our Sale and Didsbury flood storage reservoirs are used when water levels in the River Mersey become too high and risk overspilling. Didsbury Basin has been in operation since 1978 aims to protect around thousands of homes and businesses - mostly in West Didsbury, Northenden, and Sale - from flooding

 

 

The basin is maintained on a priority basis by our operational teams and is regularly checked to ensure its capability is up to standard.  When the basin is at capacity, it is still actively reducing flood risk by containing water by delaying this volume reaching the river system.

Despite the record river levels seen during Storm Franklin, our flood defences protected more than 18,500 properties in the North West. In Didsbury alone, the flood basin protected 3,000 properties and acted as designed.

In the days that followed the storms, our teams were once again out on the ground checking flood assets and ensuring no damage had occurred. In Greater Manchester, Merseyside, and Cheshire we have 134 debris screens, and they have all been visited by our operational teams to check they are in good working order and debris that may have caught on the screen during the storms has been removed.

 

 

The field teams have worked tirelessly over the past weeks keeping our watercourses clear and free-flowing. They have responded to 15 reports of blockages, made by members of the public, but there will still be more clearing up to do over the coming weeks.

As we head into spring, the team are on track with their regular maintenance programme designed to keep our flood defences and assets in tip-top condition.

If you are taking advantage of the change in weather and enjoying a walk near your local watercourse, don’t forget to report any blockages or fallen trees. You can let us know if you spot anything on our 24-hour incident hotline 0800 80 70 60.

Taking the next step in flood risk management for Rochdale

Following the recent flooding incidents, it seems timely for the project team to update you around work on the proposed flood scheme in Rochdale and Littleborough.

Since our last update, the Environment Agency, Rochdale Brough Council and Network Rail, have been busy finalising enabling works at the Gale site and installing a new culvert under the railway line.

 

 

The enabling works and culvert installation were critical activities to enable the next phase of work for the wider scheme. Subject to planning and business case approval, further construction works are now proposed at various sites in and around Littleborough.

This will see a new flood storage reservoir built at the Gale site adjacent to Todmorden Road. The proposed storage reservoir will look like a field most of the time but it will be surrounded by flood protection measures including embankments, walls and a flow control structure at the southern end of the site.

In storm events when the capacity of the river is exceeded, water will begin to pool in the field creating a reservoir. The flow control structure will prevent the river exceeding the bank capacity downstream of the Gale site and through Littleborough town centre.

The planning application for Phase 1b in Littleborough is due to be submitted at the end of March with construction of the latest round of works scheduled to start by Autumn 2022.

 

 

We now want to hear your thoughts around the visualisation of the proposed flood storage basin at Gale. A community drop-in session, to allow residents to view the plans for Littleborough 1b before they are submitted for planning approval, will be held on Thursday 17 March at the Coach, the Heritage Centre, Lodge St, Littleborough OL15 9AE, between 3pm and 7pm.

To view the visualisations and find out more information, please go to the Rochdale and Littleborough Flood Risk Management Scheme page on the Flood Hub.

Work has now also started at Riverstone Bridge to set up the site compound and foundations for the temporary pedestrian bridge over the river. We are working with utility providers to divert the services out of the existing Riverstone Bridge onto a temporary service bridge while construction works take place.

 

 

Site cabins will be delivered to the green area adjacent to the bridge in March 2022. This will include a customer drop-in hub, so that residents are able to view drawings and plans, and speak to the Environment Agency project team directly to ask any questions or raise any concerns relating to our works.

The new bridge will be built while the existing bridge is still in place, so access will be maintained at all times. The new bridge is due to be open by Spring 2023 and only once it is open, will the old bridge will be removed.

Works must minimise any disturbance to the ecology in the river and so the programme is required to avoid fish (brown trout) spawning season between October and May.

Protecting our breeding fish

Speaking of fish spawning, it is that time of year when we start to look ahead to the close season for coarse fish.

The annual close season, which comes into effect on Tuesday 15 March and runs until 15 June inclusive, helps to protect fish stocks across England when they are spawning by preventing fishing for coarse fish in rivers, streams, drains and specified canals, as well as ‘site of special scientific interest’ (SSSI) stillwaters.

Throughout the close season, Environment Agency (EA) officers and Angling Trust Volunteer Bailiffs conduct patrols to ensure anglers observe the close season rules.

 Going fishing is a great way to connect with nature and while we always encourage new anglers to give fishing a go, we are aware not all will know of fishing rules like the closed season. If you know a new angler, please remind them of the closed season dates.

Anglers who do still want to get out on the banks during close season can still visit many stillwaters and canals, depending on landowner agreement, or try their hand at trout fishing, though a valid fishing licence is still required.

 

 

Stay in touch

You can stay up-to-date with the latest news and information from the Environment Agency on Twitter and Instagram at @EnvAgencyNW. 

We look forward to sharing more of our stories and successes with you in May.