The Flooding Aire

The green spaces and places of Leeds
biggee99
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Post by biggee99 »

From the wykebeck to the bottom of Halton Moor then the beck is piped up at Halton Moor road where the Auctions are, this is why the Dunhill's floods and the fields at Halton Moor the beck ends up at a funnel point. Now they was a court case some years ago where a man took Yorkshire water to court saying he dose not get his water from the tap he gets it from the sky so docent think he should pay water rates. the Judge said yorkshire water owns the water from the sky. so when it floods why can't you get compensation from yorkshire water who own and control the water
biggee

Cardiarms
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Post by Cardiarms »

Because Yorkshire Water don't own and control the water, including the rain from the sky. You pay rates if you're connected to the water supply, even if you choose not to use it, in which case get a meter. YW is responsible for flooding due to blocked or overloaded sewers. YW is not responsible for flooding from watercourse, becks, rivers or the sea. They are not owned, managed or maintained by Yorkshire Water.    

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chameleon
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Post by chameleon »

And now:'The Environment Agency has stressed there will be no increased flood risk as funding was available for the maintenance of existing defences'Which surely begs the question once more of if the proposed creeeping monster of new defences was needed.....

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Leeds Hippo
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Post by Leeds Hippo »

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/uu ... nteresting mentions flooding in 1775, 1795 and 1866From The Yorkshire Annals1775A very high flood occurred in the river Aireon the 21st of October, this year. "Water-lane, togetherwith all the other streets and lanes near the Leeds Bridge,were rendered impassable to anything but boats. Thebridges of Calverley and Swillington, above and belowLeeds, were destroyed, and a singular circumstance isrelated of a hare, which escaped alive on the body of adrowned sheep. The height to which the water rose ispreserved by a notice at the end of Water-lane, enteringfrom the bridge, thus :—".1775, October 21st, "Flood"under which is a line showing that the water rose sevenfeet above the crown of the paving1795 On the 9th of February, the river Aire,which had been frozen for a considerable time? exhibited amost appalling scene occasioned by a rapid thaw andheavy rain, which "broke up the ice and swelled the riverso as to inundate all the lower streets in Leeds, whereincalculable mischief was done by the foaming torrent andthe immense blocks of floating ice, which carried awaycloth and tenters from the fields, threw down walls, dyehouses,and several dwelling-houses, and greatly injuredthe bridge, across one of the arches of which, a boat wasforced on its broad side, and at length broken to pieces by& vast accumulation of ice and water, which, if the vesselhad not given way, would have soon overthrown thebridge itself, as was feared by the anxious spectators ofthis destructive flood, which drowned three men in HunsletDam, and floated down the river, horses, carts, timber,furniture, in rapid successionWonder where Hunslet Dam was?1866 (Sorry about the English - does not copy and paste very well)16th. Friday. The continuous heavy rains at this time in Yorkshireand Lancashire caused the most disastrous floods which had occurredfor a great number of years. In Leeds, the Aire and thelarger becksoverflowed, inundating the lower parts of the town, and doing greatdamage to property of all descriptions. At the junction o£ HunsletLane and Meadow Lane the water was about two feet deep. Therewas a great overflow at the Waterloo Ford, near to the WellingtonStation, after passing which the stream flooded the works connectedwith the new station, carried away the foot bridge beyond the railwayarches, and rose half way up Sandford Street. It swept withgreat force through the School Close Bridge into the Bang's Milldam, carrying with it large pieces of wood and othe • materials. Anaccident of a serious nature, no doubt in great part attributable tothe flood, occurred at one of the buildings erected by the side of thedam, a large cliimney connected with the corn mill occupied by theexecutors of the late Mr. Edward Hudson, suddenly falling. Thecope stone, a huge piece of masonry, was projected across the dam,and striking the roof of one of the buildings in School Close, completelydemolished it. The building was at the time occupied bythe wife and son of Mr. Thompson, one of the contractors for thenew railway works. They were both buried in the ruins of thehouse, ard when rescued were conveyed to the Infirmary. The son'sinjuries were found to be of a very slight nature, but Mrs. Thompsonwas suffering from a fracture of the right arm and from concussionof the brain. An empty barge was swept a^\ay from Howard'swharf. The barge dashed against another partially laden with coals ;the first was broken to pieces and sank, and the other was carrieddown with great force until brought to a stop by the abutments ofthe Leeds Bridge, where part of it remained fixed, considerablyobstructing the current, and causing the river to rush with territicspeed through the other arches. A landing stage at this point wa*washed away on the following morning, precipitating about twentypersons into the flood, several of whom were drowned, namely, EmilyLongbottom, aged 15, daughter of Samuel Longbottom, engineiuan,Woodhouse Hill, Hunslet; Anna Maria Oldroyd, aged 14, daughterof Edward Oldroyd, Underground-viewer, Newhall Colliery, Middletoni Eliza Booth, aged 16, daughter of Wm, Booth, Belle Isle, Middleton; Elizabeth Anding, aged 16, who resided with her parents atWoodhouse Hill, Htmslet; Ann Maria Nairn, aged 11, daughter ofMichael Nairn, Orange Court, Marsh Lane ; Wm. Ellis, aged 30,cloth dresser, Beeston Hill. Overflowing the bridge at the King's-Mills, the water ran down Swinegate and poured into the mills, completelyflooding the lower flat. Tliis result, however, had beenforeseen and proper precautions taken by the removal of all perishablearticles to a safer part of the building. The flood on the banksat Leeds Bridge found a ready means of rushing into Meadow Laneand Water Lane by means of the archways communicating betweenthe river and Bridge End. In Lower "Water Lane the water penetratedas far as Mr. Green's machine works, close to the Quaker'sMeeting* House; in the tipper part of the lane it reached fromWater Hall to Marshall Street, Holbeck ; whilst Meadow Lane wascovered to Christ's Church, Dock Street was impassable, and inHmislet Lane the flood extended to the Theatre BoyaL TimbleBeck flooded Marsh Lane and bottom of Kirkgate, rising to ChurchLane in Kirkgate, and Mill Street in Marsh Lane. Great damagewas done to shop property in this neighbourhood, and the cellardwellings in Duke Street were completely flooded, the occupantsfinding a temporary home with some of their more fortunate neighbinu*s. The residents in low-lying dwellings in East Street were inconsiderable danger, and the removal of those who wished bo quittheir insecure tenements were taken charge of by the chief-constable,Mr, Weatherall, and Mr. Superintendent Senior, who obtained aboat and rendered the greatest assistance to those who stood in needof it. The water entered the lower part of the Parish Church burialground, but not in sufficient quantity to do much damage. Theroads and fields in the neighbourhood of Sheepscar Bar ; of Knostrop;and of Thorpe Hall Pastures, were covered to the depth ofseveral feet. In the course of the evening, a man in attemptingto proceed along Hunslet Lane narrowly escaped drowning. Heand two others, anxious to reach home, thought they might wadethe thoroughfare, along which the flood waters ran furiously. Twoof them, however, finding the current too strong, retraced theirsteps, but the third man was carried away and thrown on his backby the stream. The occupants of the houses called out to thebystanders near the bridge, and a man named George Laverackmade the best of Ms way to Ms assistance. The waters, however,were too strong to enable either of them to make any progress withsafety, and it was only by the aid of a veMcle, which came up at thetime, that the two men were rescued from their perilous position.In Kirkstall Road, the flood rose to a great height, personswho travelled over it in cabs having to undergo the unpleasantordeal of riding with the water at some parts as high as theseats of their conveyances, 'Whitham's Forge, Kirkstall Road, wascompletely flooded, all work was suspended, and the horses had tobe removed from the stables • while the foot bridge, a strong woodenerection, adjoining Cardigan Fields, and connecting Buiiey withArmley, was swept away. At Kirkstall, a culvert burst at the top ofthe bank, and the water rushed down the declivity, inundating theower parts of the houses in its course, and necessitating the tenantsseeking some securer abode. The scene at the Railway Station atKirkstall baffles description. The river, which flows by the side ofit, burst all its boundaries, and embracing the whole of the tramwayift Its folds, flowed on free and unfettered, leaving no distinctionbetween its natural and its adopted course than here an overturnedporter's box, and there the i*emains of what had served to give thepassenger's accommodation, whilst waiting for the trains. Thewater flowed along in a deep, rapid stream as far as the eye couldreach, whilst the fields in the vicinity were at one time floodedas high as five or six feet, the lines being under water to the depth ofmore than three feet. The ground in which the Abbey standsshared the same fate as its neighbours, but fortunately the flood didnot reach the fine old ruin itself. Of course, it was absolutely impossiblefor trains in the latter part of the day to reach the station ;they had to be stopped some distance from it, and the passengerswere left to find their way as best they could to Leeds, The bridgeat Kirkstall Forge was completely undermined. The bridge on thebranch line leading to the Forge also suffered such injuries as torender it entirely useless. A huge boiler, swept from the chemical.works of Messrs. Tunstall, was hurled against it, altogether destroyingits supports. At the forgo itself an immense amount of damagewas done, the water having extinguished the furnaces, and coveredthe entire works to the extent of several feet. The offices wereflooded, and one end of a small weigh-house was carried awayby the accumulation of material. The water played the mostfantastic tricks in the works, removing heavy masses of ironto all imaginable spots, and floating in their place tar barrels,planks of wood, and other articles from the adjoining premises.Above Kirkstall Forge the valley was covered with water, and butfor the devastation caused by such an inundation the scene was exceedinglypicturesque in the moonlight. At the chemical worksoccupied by Mr. Tunstall, the flood, which had risen with greatrapidity, swept everything moveable before it, and the family hadto make a hurried escape, Mr. Tunstall, who was suffering from illness,being taken out of the chamber window. Two or thi'ee largetubular boilers, used for storing tar, wTere swept into the river, andone was carried with great force against the buttresses of the railwaybridge leading to Kirkstall Forge. The glue works, occupiedby Messrs. Clarke and Thackray, a short distance above, were surroundedwith water during the afternoon, and the workmen remainedprisoners until the subsidence of the river on the following day.At Newlay, several stacks of corn belonging to Mr. Young werecarried away, and the cottages on the north side of the river, as wellas a portion of the works of Messrs. Haigh and Billington, dyers, wereflooded. The Midland Railway Company suffered considerably fromthe flood. About one o'clock there was a slight slip on the linenear Guiseley, but a more serious accident took place shortlyafterwards near Apperley, where a viaduct gave way. Theline on leaving Apperley Station passes through a short cutting,and was carried thence by a viaduct across the valley,which opens out here into a broad flat of land, through thecentre of which flows the Aire, before reaching Apperley Bridge.This viaduct was a substantial one, of ten or twelve arches, andrising a considerable height above the river. It was built of stone,and not only had every appearance of strength, but it had carriedfor many year© not fewer than two hundred trains a day, includingheavy mineral and goods trains. The current rapidly underminedthe foundations of the buttresses, and during this afternoon it becameevident that the viaduct was no longer secure, and at length signsthat it was giving way having shown themselves, the officials on thespot resolved to stop the passage of any trains across it. About aquarter-past five, however, when the storm of rain was at its height,and when the Aire was poiiring through the valley and underneaththe arches of the viaduct with a violence which had never been witnessedbefore by those upon the spot, a heavy goods train, travellingfrom Bradford to Leeds, made its appearance at the west end of theviaduct, and before it copld be stopped had advanced a considerabledistance upon it. The signalmen at the end near Apperley, and theApperley station-master, immediately ran forward and succeeded instopping the train. Then it became but too evident that the traincould neither advance nor retreat, for the viaduct began almost immediatelyto sink. The engine-driver, stoker, and guard of thetrain, leapt oft', and ran for their lives across the falling viaduct,reaching the embankment afc the western end in safety, but nothaving a minute to spare. The signalman and station-master, whoin the discharge of their duty had placed themselves in such peril,also retreated as rapidly as they could to the opposite embankment.Scarcely had they done so when, with a tremendous crash, thaentire viaduct fell into the stream, the train that had been standingon the arches being buried in the ruins. For a moment the enormousmass of masonry, as it lay across the channel, completelystopped the progress of the torrent; but it was only for a moment,and directly afterwards the river was leaping over this barrier of itsown cheating, and was again tearing down the valley in its madcareer. Soon the van and waggons of the train were torn from themidst of the ruins, and floated down the stream, turning upin shattered fragments at various places lower down the river. Theengine and tender were firmly fixed in the ruins and remainedimmovable. There was fortunately no further injury to theline either up to Shipley, Bradford, or Slripton, except some slightdisplacement near Steeton. On the North-Eastern line a slightstoppage took place, and Bramhope tunnel was flooded, bxit noserious accidents occurred, though the trains were late. At Skiptonthe flood burst a branch canal leading up to Skipton rock, carriedaway a small bridge, and did other damage

ponddipper
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Post by ponddipper »

Interesting.

railnut
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Post by railnut »

Nice reading Hippo, whish I'd been around with my note book at Apperley Bridge to see those 200 trains a day!

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chameleon
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Post by chameleon »

Copied here to keep the story together -yorkiesknobUser Location: BRISBANE ,BORN AND BREWED IN BURLEYJoined on: 19-Dec-2009 23:15:13Posted: 96 posts # Posted on: 23-Mar-2011 11:13:22.    Edit | Quote This From the YEP today,10 mil down from 190 . Must be a discount for cash somewhere. Seems quite a new idea civil engineering wise. Can't help linking it with other blow up device's /aids.http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/n ... 8814Cheers Yorkie

dave_f
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Post by dave_f »

An interesting idea to install an "inflatable weir", but I can't help but wonder if it will simply push the problem further downstream (as indeed would most defences for Leeds)?Tough luck Castleford...
It's me, raveydavey! I've had to start a new account, but don't worry I still dislike Sheffield...

Dave.s
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Post by Dave.s »

Hi, I took some pictures of the wyke beck this morning, they have finally started some major work.
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Dave.s
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Post by Dave.s »

here's a pic from the other end, its on cartmel drive opposite corpus christies.
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