Great progress at Phase 1B of our Littleborough Flood Risk Management Scheme
Phase 1B of the Littleborough Flood Risk Management Scheme, which we’re delivering on behalf of the Environment Agency, has seen excellent progress. Throughout 2024, our team focused on installing sheet piles to form the east wall of the reservoir and constructing the outlet flow control structure. With that milestone complete, earthworks began on site in early 2025.
At Gale West, the River Roch diversion is complete. 300lm of new river channel has been constructed, including environmental enhancements such as fish habitat creation and the planting of wildflowers. Work began in March of this year, and the new channel was made live in August, the team can now look to fill the old channel with clay and begin constructing the west embankment of the reservoir dam.
At Gale East, a new river channel for the Greenvale Brook has been constructed, construction began in June and was completed in October. The new river channel will direct flows through a concrete culvert structure beneath the Calder Valley railway and into the Gale West reservoir. Concrete works to the structure have been completed and the new river channel was made live in October.
A major achievement was reached at Gale West, with the completion of the spillway embankment, the embankment has been designed to allow the reservoir to overspill in a controlled manner, if it reaches above its designed capacity. Completion of this work has enabled a monitoring period to begin, during which our VolkerStevin design team will assess any settlement of the embankment. Following a successful settlement period, the site team will begin to lay grasscrete panels on the spillway next year.
In 2025, over 30,000m³ of clay has been placed and compacted, keeping us on track to complete the earth embankments by summer 2026.
