Natural flood management work continues at Bootle

11th December 2020 - Wild Rivers Catchment

In the Bootle area we’ve been working closely with Bootle Flood Action Group on a natural flood management project in the River Annas catchment area that aims to help reduce flood risk to the village.

In partnership with farmers and landowners in the area we’re developing new features inspired by nature that will store water in the landscape for longer after storms, with the aim of reducing peak river levels downstream.

This year we have:

 
A new embankment on Corney Fell (L), and the same embankment holding back water after heavy rain (R)

This two-year project will be complete in March 2021. This winter we’ll be planting 2,000 trees, installing further leaky dams, reconnecting a floodplain and fencing off a further 1.5 km of beck.

All our natural flood management projects include monitoring technologies which will tell us how much difference the interventions are making, and contribute to the national evidence base on the effectiveness of natural flood management.

Bootle Flood Action Group members have generously given their time to help with both tree-planting and monitoring.


Volunteers hard at work planting a 1Ha floodplain woodland

We’re delighted with the features installed across the catchment and want to thank all the farmers and landowners involved for engaging with the project. Initial monitoring data is looking positive and we hope to see that trend continue.

The Bootle Natural Flood Management project is funded by DEFRA’s Natural Flood Management Programme and the Walney Extension Community Fund.