Perry Barr and Witton Flood Risk Management Scheme – Phase 2

Fairfields have been awarded a £1.1m project to provide the control system for Phase 2 of the Perry Bar and Witton Flood Risk Management Scheme in Birmingham.

Fairfields have been contracted by Jacksons, as part of their £14.3m project which has been funded by the Environment Agency and Birmingham City Council. The purpose of the project is to construct an additional flood storage area at Forge Mill in Sandwell Valley which lies upstream of Perry Bar and Witton, this will control the passage of flood water downstream.

The new flood storage area will be the largest in the UK, and is designed to hold 1.7 million cubic metres of water, with the aim of protecting 1400 homes and businesses that are at risk of flooding from the River Tame.

The concrete control structure will have 4 off 3000mm diameter culvert pipes and a spillaway overflow bypass channel to allow a reduced river flow in the event of all 4 Penstocks being closed. To build redundancy into the system, four sluice gate/culvert combinations will be installed that will be fitted with 3.4m² rising spindle penstocks automated by electrically operated actuators.

The object of the control system, is to monitor the prevailing river levels and automatically control the actions of the four penstocks in such a way as to maximise flow through the structure whilst minimising flooding along the River Tame within the Perry Bar and Witton section.