Flood alert expected for Northumberland river after erosion of raised bank holding back water

A raised bank holding back up to 500,000 cubic metres of water in Upper Coquetdale is at risk of failing.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

The River Coquet overtopped following heavy rain last week and merged with the Caistron Lakes, near Rothbury.

The river has split in two, with around half now flowing into the lakes area, which is currently holding anywhere between 100,000 and 500,000 cubic metres of water.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The impounded water is currently being held in place by the lake’s raised aggregate bank but it has suffered erosion due to the overflow of water from the lakes returning to the River Coquet.

The main River Coquet splitting into Caistron Lakes (left).The main River Coquet splitting into Caistron Lakes (left).
The main River Coquet splitting into Caistron Lakes (left).

This bank is now at risk of failure.

With local catchments saturated, combined with forecast rainfall and snowmelt, the river level is expected to hit the trigger level to issue a flood alert tonight. As a precaution, the flood gates at Rothbury will be closed this afternoon.

The Environment Agency is now working with partners including Northumberland County Council, Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service and Northumbria Police to reduce the risk to the local area.

Should the bank fail, it will release water from the lakes area downstream.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

While the extent of the floodplain means this additional water won’t create a sudden impact, it does have the potential to raise river levels more quickly than normal and flood agricultural and low lying land and some recreational areas including low lying public rights of way, public roads and the Cow Haugh car park at Rothbury riverside.

Northumberland County Council is working to address any public safety concerns through the temporary closure of footpaths, car parks, and play areas in low lying areas and the flood plain, when river levels dictate.

Partners are working together with the landowner to find a solution to the lake bank erosion.

A meeting in 2019 involving agencies including the Environment Agency, Northumberland Rivers Trust, Natural England, and landowner, fisheries and council representatives, discussed the potential issues with the River Coquet and the likely future overtopping or breach.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Andrew Turner, area duty manager at the Environment Agency in the North East, said: “We’ve been closely monitoring the River Coquet over recent years and since our meeting in 2019 we have developed a robust incident response plan to minimise the impact on the community and environment.

“The overtopping into Caistron Lakes – a set of man-made ponds – took place last weekend (February 6) during heavy rain and high river levels. We’re assessing the current situation and looking at options to ensure a gradual release of the stored water.

“Our priority is the safety of the public and we will keep people informed of our activities and the latest information.”

Caistron Lakes were created many years ago when the River Coquet overtopped into a sand and gravel extraction site. The new breach will ultimately create a new channel for the River Coquet.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Andrew added: “Longer term, we will be working with Natural England to monitor the impact this has on the main River Coquet and the environment. The Coquet is a naturally wandering river and erosion, switching channels or the formation of new channels is an entirely normal occurrence.”

Read More
10 pictures show how flooding of the River Coquet in Northumberland has changed ...

The dramatic events of the pandemic are having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers and consequently the advertising that we receive. We are now more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news by buying a copy of our newspaper. If you can, please do pick up a copy when you are at the shops. Thank you for your support.