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16/12/2009
Storing millions of gallons of floodwater upstream has been chosen by the Environment Agency as its preferred option to reduce the risk of floods in Morpeth.
The scheme will also allow new defences in the town centre to be less obtrusive.
The option of defences and upstream storage will provide protection from a flood whose chance of happening in any given year is 0.9% or a one in 115 chance, which is the same size flood that hit the town in September 2008. Many parts of Morpeth are currently protected from a flood which has a one in 50 chance of occurring.
However, some parts like High Stanners and Mitford Road are undefended and under the new proposal, defences will be built in these areas too.
The flood storage area upstream at Mitford would admit as much water as the town's flood defences can cope with. The remaining flow will then be stored in an upstream reservoir that can hold over one million cubic metres of water.
During the height of last year's flood, the flow in the town reached 345 cubic metres per second.
Agency senior flood risk engineer Phil Welton said: "We found there were broadly two options to reduce the risk to the town. In April we talked to residents about our findings and their feedback was invaluable.
"Since then, we have looked at sites which have the potential to store flood water and discussed our proposals with landowners.
"Our next stage is to talk to residents and other interested parties in the New Year and give people the opportunity to look at our plans."
The flood storage area is proposed for the Mitford Estate and will contain water only when river levels rise significantly.
Without it, flood walls in High Stanners and along Mitford Road might have reached 3m high, whereas now walls in these areas will be between 0.5m and 1.6m tall.
The Environment Agency team will next determine the exact location of where the flood walls will be and how they will look.
Residents can talk to the team about the scheme on Thursday, January 21 from 2pm to 8pm at Morpeth Town Hall.
Staff are also arranging separate sessions for residents in areas such as High Stanners and Mitford Road who may want discuss specific parts of the plan in more detail.
They will also continue to consult with key organisations such as Northumberland County Council and Northumbrian Water.
Staff are already working with partners to reduce the risk from other sources, such as drainage and surface water.
Once the outline designs have been drawn up, staff will work out the cost to build the scheme and the plans will then be submitted for approval and for national funding.
If this is granted, a more detailed design will be drawn up and planning permission sought.
It is anticipated that building work on the scheme will start in late 2011, with completion expected by late 2013.
The Journal - www.journallive.co.uk