A decade after floods: Yorkshire water breaks ground on fifth storm overflow project

The £2.2m project on Wyther Lane in Kirkstall will see the installation of a new storage tank on Wyther Lane, which will hold excess wastewater, and rainwater flows during periods of heavy or prolonged rainfall.

It’s now 10 years since the River Aire bursts its banks on Boxing Day as heavy downpours during Storm Eva led to catastrophic flooding. More than 2,600 were homes flooded and 700 businesses left underwater or damaged in the city centre, Kirkstall and Otley. Trainlines were left flooded, cars abandoned, and 15,000 people lost power.

Millions of pounds have since been spent to ensure this never happens again including the Leeds Flood Alleviation scheme.

Yorkshire Water’s latest project aims to create additional capacity in the network, causing the reduction of discharges into the river Aire.

Storm overflows are designed to act as a relief valve for the combined sewer network, which carries both wastewater and surface water, during periods of heavy or prolonged rainfall. They discharge when the system is at capacity to prevent flows backing up and flooding homes and gardens.

Carried out by contract partners Ward & Burke, the work is expected to take a year to complete. When finished, discharges from the overflow will be reduced to less than 10 per year.

Dan Rhodes, project manager for Yorkshire Water, said: “Storm overflows across the region are operating more often than we, and our customers, would like, but we’re making significant headway with our programme in Leeds. We’ve now started five projects in Leeds, and over the next five years, we’re planning to bring the number of discharges from overflows in the area down by 72%.”

Storage tank projects are also on track at:

• Millshaw storm overflow in Beeston, reducing discharges into Farnley Wood Beck

• Headingley Station storm overflow, reducing discharges into the river Aire

• Village Place storm overflow in Burley, reducing discharges into the river Aire

• Fraser Avenue in Horsforth, reducing discharges into the river Aire

The first project began in August, with the utility starting on average, one project every month in Leeds.

The work in Leeds forms part of the utility’s £1.5bn storm overflow investment project between 2025 and 2030 and follows a £180m investment over the previous two years that helped to reduce discharges to the region’s watercourses by 12% in 2024 compared to 2023. The storm overflow project is part of Yorkshire Water’s £8.3bn investment into its services and the environment over the next five years.