March 7, 2022 Maintaining watercourses to prevent flooding
With the impact of storms Dudley, Eunice and Franklin causing severe damage and treacherous conditions across our home county of Shropshire as well as further afield, many are looking for long term preventative solutions.
Shropshire Council’s leader Lezley Picton has said she will be asking the Environment Agency to assess the support for communities along the River Severn, while Telford & Wrekin Council leader Shaun Davies said that defences for communities in the area need to be reconsidered.
According to Shropshire Council itself, best practice guidelines state that it is beneficial to develop a programme of planned watercourse maintenance works. Suggestions state that the prime window for annual maintenance is throughout September, in preparation for increased winter flows.
FSP Managing Director Wayne Carter said: “The Shropshire Council advisory site claims that trash, debris and security screens should be checked regularly throughout the year, especially at times of forecast high flow.
“While these will undoubtedly not have prevented much of the levels and damage seen recently, ensuring the watercourses are fitted with adequate trash screens that are manufactured to industry guidelines means flood risks can be eased.”
“Maintaining water flow through tunnels and pumping stations is essential to efficient water management. If a watercourse flows through a tunnel there’s an increased risk of blockage. At FSP we use our in house expertise and design capability to fabricate trash screens to maximise their effectiveness and minimise ongoing maintenance problems.”
Fabweld Steel Products supplies standardised trash screens in both galvanised mild steel and stainless steel finishes. However, all our products can be adapted to suit bespoke requirements.
Wayne added: “We’ve recently worked with contractors to bespokely manufacture trash screens for watercourse culverts at Telford Town Park. These products were custom designed to meet the extact needs and measurements of the site to help prevent litter and debris entering the waterway.”
If you have a water management project that you need fabrication products for, whether standard size or bespoke requirements, contact our sales team on 01952 581430 or email sales@fsp.co.uk.