River Leck natural flood management project

The project was setup to use Natural Flood Management (NFM) measures to reduce the risk of flooding to Leckhampstead. It ran from 2018 to 2024.

We worked with Freshwater Habitats Trust on the project.

We chose to use NFM measures after we conducted a feasibility study in 2018.

The river runs through the north of Buckinghamshire, flowing in a south-easterly direction from its source in Northamptonshire. It feeds the Great Ouse river.

NFM measures are good for reducing flood peaks during the lower intensity, higher frequency flood events.

The measures help to slow down flows of water and temporarily store rainwater higher up in the catchment. This gives communities more time to prepare for flooding and recover from it.

Using natural measures also provides wildlife benefits.

We implemented 41 measures which produced 7,300 cubic metres (m3) of temporary flood storage.

Hydraulic modelling showed a 10% reduction of peak flows, during a 1 in 10-year and 1 in 30-year storm event. Water levels in Leckhampstead were predicted to be between 2.5cm to 5cm lower during these events.

The measures we used included:

• leaky dams
• debris dams
• bunded storage areas
• cross-valley bunds
• floodplain stepped and tiered bunds

Watch our slideshow below which shows some of the features we used, including:

• leaky dams and barriers
• stepped bunds to control water flow