Flooding in York

1st November to 11th November 2000.

The Flood event which occurred in
November 2000 had a return period
estimated to be 1 in 80 to 90 years.
In November 2000 York suffered its
worst floods since records began some
time in the 17th century. The water was
over six metres higher than it should have
been and came within five centimetres of
breaching York's flood defences.
Knavesmire
Road (between the line of trees)
Flood defences, North Street
Flood defences
, end of North Street
View from
Leeman
Road towards
Marygate
Car Park, Leeman
Road
River Ouse beside Lendal Bridge
King’s Arms
Environmental Agency
Streets in Clementhorpe
The purple line shows all flood defences built in
the last five years to protect against river floods
with a 1% (1 in 100) chance of happening each
year, or floods from the sea with a 0.5% (1 in
200) chance of happening each year, together
with some, but not all, older defences and
defences which protect against smaller floods.
Flood defences that are not yet shown, and the
areas that benefit from them, will be gradually
added. 
 
Hatched areas benefit from the flood defences
shown, in the event of a river flood with a 1% (1
in 100) chance of happening each year, or a flood
from the sea with a 0.5% (1 in 200) chance of
happening each year. If the defences were not
there, these areas would be flooded.
Flood defences do not completely remove the
chance of flooding, however, and can be
overtopped or fail in extreme weather conditions. 
The river reached a peak of 17ft 8ins
(5.3m) above normal at 0330 GMT on
Saturday 4th November 2000, within two
inches of breaching flood defences
Lendal Bridge Flood Defences
Foss Barrier
Catchment area: Rivers Ouse &
Foss
This map shows the
Ouse catchment
area upstream of
York – a total of
3,000 square
kilometres. The
River Ouse is fed
mainly by the rivers
Swale, Nidd and Ure
which carry water
from the Dales and
the Pennines. Whe
there is heavy rain
or melting snow on
the high ground, the
level of the Ouse in
York can rise
dramatically.
Clifton Ings

This is a natural flood plain upstream of York which can store

2.3 million cubic metres of water, lowering the peak flood
level in the city by 150mm. In 1982, at a cost of £1.25 million,
the existing floodbanks were raised and new embankments
constructed to provide this greater storage. Sluice controls
for letting flood water in and out of the Ings were also put
into operation.
This system is extremely effective for medium order floods
of up to 14 feet (4.27 metres) above normal. For higher order
flooding, the site is designed to let the banks overtop,
allowing the full capacity of the Ings to be utilised in such an
event.
View of Clifton Ings filled
with flood water
during the 1995
event looking
downstream of the
Ouse towards the
city. Utilising these
washlands can
reduce the effects
of high water levels
in the river. Flood
water is returned
to the Ouse when
the river has fallen
to a safe level.
Leeman Road

The Leeman Road area of York consists primarily of 19th

Century ex-railway workers‘ houses. It was extremely prone
to flooding both from the River Ouse and the adjacent
Holgate Beck. In 1978, 225 houses were seriously flooded.
In 1980 a floodbank was constructed in front of the houses
to protect them from flood water. The sewage system was
also improved drastically, allowing sewage to be pumped when
the river levels were high. During the 1982 flood, high winds
blowing over Clifton Ings generated large waves which
overtopped the Leeman Road defences. The floodbank was
raised in response to this effect.
Lower Ebor Street

This area of 19th Century housing was badly

flooded in 1978. Work had already begun to
protect the area when it flooded again in 1982.
Since then, a combination of concrete flood walls
with steel trench sheeting have been
constructed, as well as earthen embankments.
Valves have been installed to isolate the sewage
system incorporating a small pump to evacuate
sewage when river levels are too high
Holgate Beck

In order to prevent flooding in the Acomb

area of the city, and near the racecourse,
upstream tributaries of Holgate Beck were
diverted to discharge flow directly into
the Ouse downstream of York. Upstream
of York, where Holgate Beck joins the
Ouse, a two-pump station was built to
control water levels.
The Foss Barrier

The River Foss is a large tributary which flows

through York, joining the River Ouse just
downstream from York Castle. Because of the
delicate relationship between these two rivers,
rising water in the Ouse can often result in a
dangerous reaction in the Foss. A rapid increase
in the volume of water in the Ouse would force
the Foss back on itself, causing it to overtop its
banks and flood surrounding properties.It was
this dramatic effect that contributed to the
severity of the floods in 1947, 1978, and 1982.
A solution for the Foss had to be found.