Major bank repairs start on the River Aire
Work will repair damage caused by the Christmas floods
Machinery being used to drive in the piles along the embankment at Carlton, near Goole
Significant repairs to flood banks along the River Aire in East Yorkshire are currently underway by the Environment Agency, to repair damage done by the Christmas floods and reduce the risk of flooding to local communities.
Work is ongoing at Carlton, near Goole, and work has started this week at West Haddlesey to strengthen flood banks. This is part of a package of work along the River Aire costing £7.5m.
At Carlton, downstream of the A1021, an 800 metre length of flood bank is being been reinforced using 5 metre steel sheet piles. The bank was suffering from seepage caused by prolonged high water levels from the Christmas floods. The piles have been driven into the bank using heavy machinery, and will stop the bank seeping at high water levels.
This week, similar works have started upstream at West Haddlesey where a shorter, 400 metre section of bank needs reinforcing, using sheet piles of 3 metres in length.
Lee Riley-Thompson, project manager at the Environment Agency said:
The steel sheet piles we are using will be driven as far as possible into the ground, which is a quieter technique we use to minimise any disruption. Due to the nature of the ground some hammering will be required however none of these works are in close proximity to local residents and therefore noise should not be an issue. These works are part of our aim to get all our defences back to standard for the winter season.
Further works to reinforce the bank at Temple Hirst using the same techniques, are scheduled to start in September.
These repair works are part of the Environment Agency’s asset repair programme, put in place to repair the region’s flood defences which were damaged by the Christmas floods. Officers have checked 8,500 assets and cleared obstructions such as collapsed bridges, buildings, thousands of tonnes of gravel, debris and vehicles from rivers to reduce further flood risk at 150 locations.