WORK has begun on a project to reduce the risk of flooding to homes on two Grimsby housing estates.
Environment Agency contractors yesterday started driving more than 700 metres of steel sheet piles along the New Cut Drain – from Great Coates Road to Cromwell Road – to improve the Freshney Washland Flood Alleviation Scheme.
The steel sheet piles each measure between 3.8 and eight metres long, and will be used to form a new flood defence along the drain. The defence will reduce flood risk to properties on the Willows Estate.
Andrew Barron, of the Environment Agency, said: "This will form a vital part of our flood defence works. We hope that people in the area will understand the need for us to carry the piling out and apologise for any inconvenience our works cause.
"The piling will create some noise but we will try to keep disruption to a minimum."
This stage of the works is expected to be completed in late February, although that depends on the weather. In addition, filter drains – perforated pipes that will collect surface water so it can flow into the New Cut Drain – will be created.
Topsoil will also be removed to allow digging to begin and clay to be placed to form the base of the new flood defence bank. And it will also see changes made to the Freshney Washland Flood Storage Reservoir to reduce flood risk to both the Willows and Wybers Wood estates.
Mr Barron said: "Trials were carried out before Christmas to compact the footprint of the new floodbank and test holes were excavated which showed that some material on-site was suitable for re-use.
"A site compound, located on land between Ampleforth Avenue, Service Road 18 and New Cut Drain, was set up before Christmas.
"A second, smaller compound was set up last week close to Great Coates Road."
The Freshney Washland scheme was built in 2001 to reduce the risk of flooding from the river to a one per cent chance in any year.
However, in 2007, 200 homes on the Willows Estate were affected when a greater flood overwhelmed defences in the area. A number of properties on Wybers Wood also flooded.
This scheme is due to be completed entirely by July.
