Action plan saved Malton and Norton from flooding this year

At the beginning of April, water levels on the River Derwent reached levels that have previously resulted in Malton and Norton flooding. But this year, the river levels triggered a multi-agency pump plan, which involves a combined response to flood warnings from North Yorkshire County Council, Ryedale District Council, the Environment Agency and Yorkshire Water.

The main river flood risk in Malton, Norton and Old Malton is managed by flood gates and defences operated by the Environment Agency. But when river levels are high, drainage systems which flow into the Derwent cannot discharge and results in surface water flooding. Due to the improved warning system, organisations were at strategic locations with pumps at least 24 hours before pumping was required and the situation was controlled.

A debrief meeting of the agencies involved also concluded that pipes recently installed by the county council’s highways department and Yorkshire Water under roads and crossing rail tracks reduced the road closures and travel disruption associated with pumping operations.

North Yorkshire County Council leader and executive member for emergency planning, Councillor Carl Les, said: “The significant reduction in flooding experienced in the towns was only as a result of the well-executed action of organisations to the event and if they had not acted, levels were high enough to have seen floods similar to those experienced in previous years.

“The pump plan is improved and added to after every event and the operational response consequently continues to improve.

“It is reassuring to know that when a warning is issued the response can now be swift enough to make sure that we are on top of the pumping efforts required, that travel disruption can be kept to a minimum during pumping and, crucially, while we can never remove the risk completely, we can offer the best chance possible that homes and properties will not be flooded.”