Sheffield steel: £19m flood defences at Forgemasters to avoid repeat of 2007
Forgemasters is spending £19m on a flood scheme to avoid a repeat of 2007.
The Brightside steelmaker will install underground tanks, a long tunnel and a pumping station to protect the works.
The site was submerged in 6ft of water and more than 50 staff were trapped when it was cut off by flash flooding in June 2007.
While some areas resumed operations within a few weeks, full recovery took around six months and cost £16m.
Today the company, which is owned by the MoD, is having a £900m upgrade.
The civil engineering project will intercept the Bagley Brook where it enters Forgemasters’ site, allowing storm water to be diverted, stored and transferred into the River Don.
A 350-yard tunnel will run 40ft under the works and Brightside Lane to a 50ft diameter shaft which will store water before it is pumped into the River Don.
Craig Fisher, programmes director at Sheffield Forgemasters, said: “We have already made huge steps towards flood prevention on the site, but the Bagley Brook transfer system will address a known flood-risk which can affect both our plant, and this part of the city.
“The brook, which runs through an enclosed culvert along our northern boundary and into the River Don, was contained in the Victorian era and the culvert simply can’t cope with an excessive flow of water, causing it to breach in heavy storm conditions.
“The new transfer system will allow storm water to be diverted from the culvert and contained in large attenuation tanks, before being transferred to the River Don via a new underground pumping station, near to Abyssinia Bridge.”
A planning application for a £100m forge two years ago included a flood assessment which states the risk is ‘very high’.
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