Water management products firm Hydro International was involved with the multi award-winning Much Wenlock flood alleviation scheme, a £2M project initiated by Shropshire Council to reduce flood risk in the small town of Much Wenlock.
In 2007, around 64 properties reported flooding to Shropshire Council and an electricity substation caused a power outage to a large part of the town due to the flooding.
Due to its history of flooding problems, Much Wenlock needed a self-activating flood prevention system and an early warning monitoring system.
The monitoring solution needed to be non-contact, require minimal or no maintenance, and be installed in an elevated position in order to prevent the risk of vandalism. With no existing power supply available at the site, ideally the system would need to have its own integral power.
Hydro International worked with consultants WSP to size and design the three Hydro-Brake® Flood vortex flow controls, restricting the water flow to within the downstream culvert capacities. Between them the two ponds have a water storage capacity of 21,104m3.
Hydro-Logic® Flexi Logger 100’s, paired with VEGA WL61 level sensors were chosen for the monitoring system – a tried and tested combined solution that provides accurate and reliable real-time information and long-term data gathering.
The completed scheme has reduced flood risk to 171 properties and highways and has also created a public open space and restored the local Westwood Quarry SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest).
Work started on the scheme in 2015 and won the Sustainability category in the Environment Agency’s annual Flood & Coast 2018 Project Excellence Awards, as well as the CIHT Sustainability Award in March 2018.
