Urgent Flood Prevention Measures Needed
Donation protected
In the years 2000, 2007, 2014, and 2015, the village of South Milford succumbed to no fewer than six terrible flooding incidents resulting in many homes being flooded, businesses having to spend tens of thousands of pounds in repairs, and sadly, some businesses needing to close down permanently.
Why is South Milford Flooding?
Due to an increase of surface water from heavy rainfall and inadequate infrastructure to deal with such a rapid volume of water, our village remains under significant threat of future flooding. In some instances, the open waterways become clogged up with debris from fallen leaves and branches which further exacerbates the risk of the banks of the stream being broken.
Photo: Flooding outside #10 High Street in 2007. Residents and emergency services deploying sandbags and pumping away the water.
What are we doing about it?
Today, the village of South Milford has an active community group of volunteers who oversee the clearing of debris from the waterways and who actively campaign for investment in a long term solution, seeking support from the community, local businesses, and our local MP.
South Milford Against Flooding (SMAF) was formed by residents and business owners each offering their time and resources. With a network of people on stand by for any red alert messages should rainfall be heavy and water levels high, it is not uncommon for these volunteers to be relieving the pressure on the system at 2am and 3am.
The Committee has worked tirelessly raising funds, researching viable solutions, and securing the necessary permissions to have a Bund installed.
Photo: Major build up of debris at the Whin Dyke culvert screen causing a dangerous rise in water levels following significant rainfall.
Photo: Free-flowing water through Whin Dyke through the culvert screen following a volunteer clean up event removing debris such as leaves and branches.
What's the long term solution?
The most feasible solution to reduce the risk of future major flooding incidents is for the installation of a Bund. A Bund is essentially a large container that would collect surface water and release the collected water gradually back into the water system meaning that the water system would not become overwhelmed at peak times. Basically, a Bund will 'slow the flow'.
Whilst the installation of a Bund may be the most feasible solution, the root cause is the inadequate infrastructure and in this regard the SMAF Committee continue to communicate with the relevant authorities (Selby District Council, Highways Agency, Environment Agency, and Yorkshire Water) to consider other solutions.
Image: Cross section of the Bund showing the through pipe, the flow in and flow out areas as supplied by Bluengineering, specialists in river and water related surveys, environmental assessments, engineering design, construction and consultancy.
How much does a Bund cost?
The installation of a Bund costs more than the funds already raised by the committee, and we therefore appeal to you to help us with our cause in anyway you feel possible.
At time of writing, the Committee has raised £15,800 yet with costs for the installation of the Bund expected to be in the region of £34,000, we have an ambitious target to raise £18,000, all of which would be invested directly into the Bund installation with any surplus being invested in further and future flood defenses.
£18,000 sounds a lot, and it is. but what if 900 people donated £20? Or just 360 people donated £50? We'd hit our target! So please, whatever you can donate, please do. Every £1 will make a difference.
Local Ambassadors
We are proud to have enrolled a number of local businesses to be our ambassadors. They are helping us raise funds through their own kind donations and using their network of customers and business contacts to further increase donations. The SMAF Commttee and the residents of South Milford are extremely grateful for their support.
Our Ambassadors
Finally
If you've read this far then THANK YOU. £18,000 is a huge amount to ask for, but with the support of our community and our local businesses, we are hopeful that if many people can give a small amount we can achieve our target to FUND THE BUND.
Thank you.
Complete Transparency
In the interest of complete transparency, below is the cost breakdown.
Construction of the Bund = £24,372.00
Heras Tree Protection Fencing = £300.00
Timber Fence Horse Exclusion = £1953.60
6 Days Traffic Management = £3,000.00
4 weeks Temporary Toilet = £120.00
Archaeologist Investigation = £1344.00
10% Bad weather Contingency = £3,108.96
TOTAL COST = £34,198.56
Organizer
South Milford Against Flooding
Organizer
England