By The Environment Agency has completed a £50 million flood risk mitigation scheme to better protect more than 1,400 properties – including 950 homes – in the Perry Barr and Witton area of Birmingham.
The major project has seen the construction of a new flood storage reservoir at Forge Mill in the Sandwell Valley Country Park.
The site is upstream of Perry Barr and Witton communities, and works to capture excess water from the River Tame during times of heavy rainfall.
The new reservoir will be able to store 1.7 million cubic metres of water – the equivalent of 680 Olympic swimming pools.
In very large floods, the area of stored water will now be able to extend back up the valley to Forge Mill Farm and Newton Road via the operation of a gate.
For smaller flood events, the water will be stored within the banks of the river until it spills onto adjacent land.
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