Yorkshire flooding: Aire Washlands

Lower Aire Catchment Overview

The upstream catchment of the lower River Aire is vast and includes the extensive upstream moorland catchments of the upper River Aire as well as the River Calder which joins the Aire upstream of Castleford. Both of these upstream tributaries are substantial rivers in their own right and have their own histories of flooding. The lower River Aire is also tidally influenced where high tides can further slow the flow of water for a considerable distance upstream of the tidal limit. The lower River Aire spans a number of local authority boundaries and the operational areas of several Internal Drainage Boards.
The lower River Aire has historic flood embankments along the length of both banks, many of which were created during land drainage and reclamation activities in the 1940s and 50s.

Lower Aire Feb 2020 Flood Event

The flooding on the lower River Aire at the end of February followed an autumn and winter of exceptional rainfall that had fully saturated the ground and kept river levels high for prolonged periods. February 2020 was the wettest February on record for Yorkshire, the River Aire catchment received over 3 and a half times the amount of rainfall we would expect to see for that time of year.
River levels in the lower River Aire responded to the continued rainfall, the volume of water in the river and the high spring tides such that the washlands filled to capacity and overtopped.
The Environment Agency worked with other risk management authorities and category 1 responders to manage the impact of the flooding. This included operation of flood risk assets and the deployment of mobile pumps and temporary defences. Despite these efforts, over 100 properties were affected in the communities of Hirst Courtney, Snaith and East Cowick.

What the Environment Agency has done since February 2020

Following the February flooding we have:
• Inspected 130km of river bank since the floods in February and identified more than 40 locations needing repair work due to the damage caused during last autumn and winter.

• Developed a recovery programme of work that require approximately £10 million on the lower Aire, which will bring flood defences back to the standard they were before these floods – this includes work at Newlands, Pickhill, Poor Bank, Temple Hirst, Allerton Bywater, Heck Ings, Snaith Ings (see below for progress).
• Cleared debris along the lower River Aire over May – June, working with contractors and the Internal Drainage Board;
• Begun grass cutting of banks, starting downstream and working upstream to enable inspection of their condition;
• Briefed local MPs and councillors and worked closely with Local Authorities and other professional partners;
• Produced a ‘keeping you informed’ newsletter which has been delivered to 3800 residents and key organisations to answer the immediate questions of the community; an ‘infographic’ – showing the headlines of the work we have done since February, shared updates and photos of work happening on social media, given interviews to radio and press releases to the media. We are currently investigating non-traditional means of communication and engagement for use during the Coronavirus restrictions.
• Held a virtual public meeting with Parish and Town Councils and partners, including North Yorkshire County Council, East Riding of Yorkshire Council, Snaith and Cowick IDB, Selby District Council and MPs . This was a chance for the Parish and Town councils to discuss their concerns, ask questions of all partners and plan together future engagement with the affected communities. We are planning future events.
• We have attended additional Parish and Town Council zoom calls.
• Reviewed flood warnings
• We plan to exercise these plans with our partners and the community.
• We are assisting the local authorities (North Yorkshire County Council and East Riding of Yorkshire Council) with their Section 19 Flood Risk Investigations, due to be delivered later this year.
• Continue to work with partners and the community

Recent, current and future activities

• Asset Performance have completed the Operational Reviews of the Lower Aire washlands, this has been a significant amount of work and will inform the S19s and our exceedance planning.
• The flood modelling is being reviewed by our consultant JBA. They are updating the models to reflect what happened in February
• The model is critical to any future operational changes we might want to make, future changes to the washlands and long term planning.
• Our flood maps may change as a result of the modelling.
• Residents will receive a second Newsletter this month, it focuses on our recovery work, winter preparedness, flood warnings and resilience.
• We are inviting residents to contact us by email so that we can speak to them directly to find out their concerns
• Flood warnings. Following a review of the flood warnings we are making updates to the flood warning areas covering the Snaith, East Cowick and Carlton communities. These changes will mean that a further 182 properties will be added to these warning areas from the 25th November. Those affected by this will be notified by post.
• Attended Snaith and Cowick TC and Rawcliffe PC, working with them to recruit flood wardens
• Issued Lower Aire flood alert on 2/11/20 alongside additional comms to parish and town councils. Understandable concern among residents in Snaith, however additional messages from TC were able to manage this.

Recovery programme

The Environment Agency is progressing with a £32 million programme of Recovery Works across Yorkshire to repair flood defences damaged by the winter floods. A number of these repairs are planned for the flood defences of the lower Aire at a cost of approximately £10 million. We have appointed several delivery partners from our frameworks who will be carrying out the works on our behalf.
The works are planned to take place throughout the remainder of this year and into early 2021. Measures will be put into place, where required, to ensure the flood defences are winter ready. It is important to note that these works are to address damage caused by the floods of last year and this and are not improvements.

Recovery Update

• Contractors remain on site at Poor Bank (near Gowdall) completion date is delayed slightly due to wet weather
• Works at Pickhill complete and contractors moving away from site
• We are at the detailed design and planning stage at Newland to replace the existing defence and due to start on site in the new year. We will be updating the community through the Parish Council and letter drop.
• Ground investigation finished at Chapel Haddlesey / Birkin Barrier and Carlton Bridge.
• GI ongoing at Brotherton Ings, Hensall Ings Berm, Hensall Pumping Station.
• Minor works complete at Little Airmyn and Newbridge Dutch River, and due at St Aidans Reservoir in December.
• Mitigation measures have been put in place by our supplier and field team to ensure that temporary solutions are winter ready, using approximately 5000 sandbags. The sites include Temple Manor, Hensall Pumping station, Eggbrough Ings, Gowdall Ings and Hensall Ings.
• An asset monitoring programme is in place throughout the winter
• Sloop Inn (Temple Hirst) due to start in January. We are working on a ‘keeping you informed’ note to brief the local community

Bank stability at Airmyn

We are entering into the Outline Business Case stage which include designs. Parish Council and ERoY are being kept informed. Works likely to commence next summer.

Rawcliffe

Detailed site investigations/condition survey planned for the spring. The outcome of this will inform when intervention is required.