Yorkshire Water has reduced flood risk to 15,000 homes in Hull as its new £16 million Bransholme storm water pump station officially opens.

People living in the Bransholme and Kingswood areas of Hull are now benefitting from improved flood defences  thanks to the completion of the pumping station at Bransholme.

Today’s official opening  by Hull North MP Diana Johnson marks the end of two and a half years’ construction on-site by Yorkshire Water’s contract partners Black and Veatch.

One of the giant archimedes screws being lifted into place in September 2015

Located in Bransholme on Selset Way, the pumping station features six giant Archimedes storm water screw pumps, which during heavy rainfall will help reduce the risk of flooding by moving  surface water from the sewers into the site’s storage lagoon.

The massive pumps are amongst the biggest in Europe and serve the purpose of protecting the local sewer network from overflowing during extreme storm conditions.

The new and improved pumping station has around four times greater capacity and can transfer the equivalent of an Olympic swimming pool’s worth of storm water into the lagoon in less than two minutes. Once stored in the lagoon, water is then slowly released into the River Hull.

Describing the project as a significant engineering challenge,  Yorkshire Water’s Director of Asset Management Nevil Muncaster said:

“Not only is the completion of the new pumping station at Bransholme a big step forward in terms of reducing the flood risk for people in Bransholme and Kingswood, but it is also a significant achievement in terms of innovative design. The living roof and brick finish were developed in consultation with local people to make the design as sympathetic as possible to the local surroundings and the solar panels will help to reduce the overall impact on the environment.”

“The city of Hull was developed around the opportunities provided by the water environment, the challenge now is to make Hull even more flood resilient whilst rediscovering the positive role that water can play in shaping a successful and sustainable city. Working closely with Hull City Council, the Environment Agency, East Riding of Yorkshire Council and other key stakeholders we are committed to playing our part in helping to deliver that vision.”

Waterbriefing is media partner with the Environment Agency’s major three-day conference and exhibition Flood and Coast 2017 which takes place from 28 to 30 March 2017 in Telford. Click here for more information