Inspiration for a community-led solution
The residents of Pecket Well Mill were motivated by a successful resident-led NFM project in Oldroyd, Todmorden. After the 2015 floods, residents in Oldroyd pooled their grants to create an attenuation basin, which has since protected their properties from flooding. This motivated Pecket Well Mill residents to adopt a similar community-led approach.
Development and implementation of the NFM Scheme
The NFM scheme at Pecket Well Mill was designed by Geoff Sweaney from Wetland Engineering. It consisted of a cascade of shallow basins with dry stone wall retaining walls, using repurposed local stone. These walls reduce the energy of the water and temporarily hold it back, allowing it to infiltrate into the ground and spread out into the field as it moves downhill more slowly.
The primary goal of the Pecket Well Mill NFM project was to reduce the risk of flooding at the properties.
Success and impact
The NFM measures have so far successfully protected the properties from flooding, demonstrating the effectiveness of community-led flood management initiatives.
This case study highlights the power of community action and innovative flood management techniques in creating resilient and sustainable solutions to flooding challenges.
Engineer, Geoff Sweaney, designed a scheme that fit aesthetically and practically into the landscape, allowing agricultural use of the field to continue. Geoff noted, “The residents showed me footage of a torrent of water running down the gully behind the houses on the night they flooded. The new basins will take a lot of energy out of that water and reduce the peak flow rate. Some schemes would have made the basins from an earth bank, but the local soil wasn’t suitable for that, so we used the dry-stone banks which I think look really smart and in keeping with the landscape”.
