Q: Could you briefly explain your role, involvement and experience with regards to flooding risk and protection?
Craig Atkin (CA) : In my role as site manager of Blackburn Meadows, my recent involvement in flood risk was to deal with the effects of the flooding on site. Effectively, the site was isolated due to the River Don bursting its banks so, through enacting the site’s emergency plans, as well as assessing the constant threat from the rising water levels, myself and six members of the team managed to deal with the flood risk and maintain site operation throughout the flood event.
Pre-construction the site base was raised by 2m due to the work done in the flood risk assessment to take it from a 1 in 10 year flood risk to a 1 in a 100 year risk. This protected the site against a river level of 4.6m in November 2019, just below the highest ever recorded level of the Don.
Blackburn Meadows is a 30MW Biomass Power Station in Sheffield, it also has a 10MW battery storage facility and a district heating network supplying local industrial customers, all of which are situated on the site, so all formed part of the plant at risk during the flood event.
Q: What are the main engineering challenges being encountered when it comes to preparing your assets against changes in climatic conditions?
CA: In respect of Blackburn Meadows, it was well known that the site was being built on a flood plain, hence the ground remediation works that raised the sites base by 2m. The continued development of the area surrounding the site presents a challenge, as land that would have been areas for water to run off now has a bypass road built on it, further enclosing the site to any potential flood risk.
We are pushing Blackburn Meadows to be more efficient which also means continued development of the site. We have recently gone through a planning process to extend parts of the site and add new buildings. The work around surface water drainage calculations, as well as assessing the current strategy for site drainage all formed part of this process. Whilst not an engineering challenge as such, factoring in full project costs is a must when considering the business case.
During the flood, the volume and pressure of groundwater was enough to breach a high voltage switchroom and fuel unloading bay basements, causing structural damage to the fuel unloading bays and posed a significant risk of water coming in to contact with high voltage electricity. During construction, both risks would have been considered, but the reality of the situation was much more severe, so the need to constantly re-assess the risk and if the solutions in place are sufficient is very real.
Q: Where do you think the main solution to rising sea levels lies in terms of retrofitting infrastructure?
CA: An obvious answer is to protect wetlands, but I’m realistic enough to know this is not always possible. Some joined up thinking from local planning authorities could help, they would have a more holistic view of developments, the full land surrounding those developments, risks and what precautions need to be put in place for any new, or retrofitted infrastructure to reduce the risk of flooding. I think developments looking in isolation at what precautions or solutions they can put in place to protect themselves only shifts a problem, so more stringent auditing from planning authorities might help. Insisting on the preservation or restoration of peatlands or wetlands, coupled with the planting of trees should also be high on the agenda of the local authorities.
Personally, working in renewable energy, controlling energy use to minimise our effect on the environment is very high on my agenda. It is also something E.ON as a business are very keen to promote in our wish to be our customers Energy Partner of Choice, not only supplying energy, but also looking at what both residential and commercial customers can do to limit their energy usage and contribute to a more sustainable, lower carbon future. Energy conservation really should be a driving force when considering the retrofit or build of new infrastructure.
Q: What are the developments in flood protection to watch for in the future?
CA: I’m probably not best qualified to answer this question with my background fully in power generation. However, I would think anything that can future proof a building or infrastructure must be the thing we look towards. I think from an outward perspective, there needs to be a more robust national strategy towards flooding, something that almost binds all other parts together, and reduces overall risk to both industrial, but also residential flooding.
From a personal perspective, the fact that flooding was so robustly considered during the build of Blackburn Meadows prevented an industrial flood and preserved the station’s continued operation. Whilst a flood risk assessment is nothing new, placing value in its outcome to reduce risk, and as such avoid the potential costs involved in a flood event is hugely important.
Clearly, and as demonstrated across the country recently, flooding is a very real and continuing threat. Any developments need to look right through from planning, to maintenance of flood protection, to predicting and communicating any flood risk to give people a chance to plan and enact emergency procedures.
Q: Why do you think it is so important for engineers to join in the future discussion around industrial flooding?
CA: In my opinion, the answer to industrial flooding isn’t one-dimensional. To understand the full problem, engineers need to be at the heart of the discussion needed and most importantly, the solutions.
Whatever solutions are discussed need to be practical and achievable. Ultimately it will be engineers that will turn ideas into solutions so getting them involved at the start of the conversation seems a necessity. The need to tackle the problem as a whole is fundamental to any successful outcome, the multi-discipline approach engineers can offer means the problem will be tackled in its entirety, rather than looking at just one element, which as per a previous comment, only shifts the problem.
Having been involved in a flood incident, whilst we came out relatively unscathed, I completely appreciate the devastation flooding can cause, the response to the problem needs to be pragmatic, and whilst I might be a little biased, I don’t believe there is a group better than engineers to offer this.
Key reasons to attend
The Industrial Flooding seminar takes place on 18 March, forming part of a two-day climate change focused event with a half-day pre-seminar workshop on the new BS EN ISO 14090 standard, taking place on 17 March.
- Hear case studies from leading engineering organisations including E.ON, EDF Energy, Yorkshire Water, AWE and Anglian Water
- Make the most out of flood modelling to predict flow paths and rates to make the right planning choices
- Learn best practice for retrofitting current assets as well as designing new assets to withstand more frequent and increased severity of weather events
- Ensure you are meeting the requirements of the new standard BS EN ISO 14090 by attending our half-day workshop hosted by Climate Sense and BSI
- Network with health, safety and environment, flooding risk managers, design engineers from engineering organisations as well as experts from government agencies, academia and flooding protection providers.
To book your place, please visit www.imeche.org/industrialflooding.