A new flood warning service has been installed in Glenridding which will help the Environment Agency predict flooding more accurately.
The new equipment, which was installed as part of the recently completed Glenridding flood risk management scheme, will be used to monitor levels in Glenridding Beck, providing vital information to inform the EA’s flood warning service and operational response.
The monitoring station replaces an existing, more basic gauge which was installed as a temporary measure in 2017.
The upgrade is more resilient and uses state-of-the-art technology to monitor water levels on Glenridding Beck, even in extreme conditions.
Residents can also monitor levels in real-time using the Gov.uk Flood Information Service, giving them as much time as possible to prepare if flooding is predicted.
Stewart Mounsey, area flood and coastal risk manager for Cumbria said: “We know the devastating impact that flooding can have, which is why protecting people and communities is our top priority.
“Our new monitoring station will play a vital role in helping us protect local people by providing information needed to predict high flows and alert the Glenridding community when flooding is expected, giving more time to react and prepare.”
The Environment Agency will also install a new rain gauge in the upper catchment of Glenridding Beck at Green Side Mines later this year. This new rain gauge will provide rainfall data directly above Glenridding village to further help improve the flood warning service.
Glenridding, flooded twice in a matter of days when the beck burst its banks in December 2015, during Storm Desmond, effectively cutting off the village. The Glenridding flood defence works, which involved removing 18,000 tons of gravel from the channel, replacing the existing river training walls and constructing new flood defence walls, were completed in July 2019.
