Beginning in February 2024, this £226,000 Defra-funded project is tackling flood risk across the catchment while restoring valuable chalk stream habitats. By working with natural processes to slow water flow and enhance water storage, the initiative is creating a more resilient and sustainable environment. The project is being delivered in partnership with Defra, the University of Lincoln, and Lincolnshire County Council.
Barrow-upon-Humber is classified as being within a Level 3 flood risk zone and therefore has a high probability of flooding from surface runoff, river flows, and tidal influences. A range of interventions are being implemented to deliver Natural Flood Management (NFM) projects across the catchment. The core principle of NFM is to work with natural processes to slow the flow of water.
Additonal Benefits
Furthermore to reducing flood risk, these measures enhance the Barrow Beck chalk stream by improving water quality through sediment trapping, creating ecological habitats, and regulating flows. Leaky barriers have been installed, and further installations are planned, at strategic locations throughout the catchment. These structures are typically constructed from logs and woody material anchored into the stream banks and are designed to activate during high-flow conditions, effectively slowing water movement. They are positioned above normal water levels, ensuring that routine flows and fish migration are not impeded. Reprofiling the stream bank upstream of each leaky barrier to form a berm at the base of the channel further increases in-channel storage capacity, enhancing the overall effectiveness of NFM measures.
Additional effective NFM interventions include the creation of wetlands, ponds, and scrapes, which increase water storage, provide valuable habitats, and reduce flood risk.
About the funding
The £25 million DEFRA-funded Natural Flood Management (NFM) programme supports 38 projects across England to strengthen flood resilience. Managed by the Environment Agency, the programme delivers nature-based solutions that reduce flood risk while creating and restoring habitats and improving land management. In doing so, it supports the objectives of the National Flood and Coastal Risk Management Strategy for England.