THE NEWLY upgraded Foss Barrier in York is now “one of the most resilient flood defences in the country”.
The Environment Agency, which is behind the scheme, say the £38 million funding to upgrade Foss barrier, along with another £45 million to complete the other flood defence work in York, better protects 2,000 properties across the city.
The previous Foss Barrier failed to protect York during the Boxing Day floods in 2015, which destroyed 627 homes along the Rivers Ouse and Foss.
The new Foss Barrier was opened and demonstrated today by chair of the Environment Agency, Emma Howard Boyd.
Ms Boyd said: “The work we have put into upgrading the Foss Barrier will mean that 2,000 properties are better protected from future flooding.
“It’s a landmark moment today with opening the refurbished and upgraded barrier, but we’ve still got plenty of work to do in York to make sure we are better protecting properties for future climate change.”
The works to improve the flood defences began with the Foss Barrier pumping station in spring 2016, and now that it has reached completion, the agency has said that it is “one of the most resilient flood defences in the country”.
Paul Stockhill, the Environment Agency’s Flood and Coastal Risk manager said: “York has always had a history with flooding, all the way back to when our records started in the late 1800s, but we’ve seen them become more frequent.
“Three of York’s most significant 12 floods have happened in the last three years, and this emphasises why one of the most resilient barriers in the country needs to be here in York.
“This barrier together with the other defence work we’ve done, gives York a 1 in 100 standard of protection, a one per cent chance of the barrier failing again, in any given year up till around 2039, then we will need to do further work as the climate changes.”
Originally built in 1987, the upgrade has eight new high-powered pumps to increase the pumping capacity.
Mr Stockhill added: “We’ve raised the Foss Barrier up so all the electrics are well out of the flood zone, the pumps have been upgraded from 30 to 50 cubic metres per second, and has two separate electric supplies from two separate parts of the grid.
“So there’s a continuous electrical supply, and if all that failed there is a back-up generator, while the old Foss barrier only had one electric supply in 2015.”
During the 2015 floods 40 cubic metres of water a second was travelling down the Foss.
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