Background
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A BRIEF OVERVIEW
Market Weighton Drainage Board is an Internal Drainage Board (IDB) constituted out of the 1930 Land Drainage Act. The present Board succeeds the original Drainage Commissioners appointed under an Act of Parliament made in 1772. The 1772 Act was created to ‘drain and preserve certain commons, low grounds and carrs in the parish of Market Weighton and beyond which were subject to be overflowed by water and for making a navigable cut or canal from Market Weighton to the River Humber’. A further Act of Parliament in 1900 effectively closed the canal to through navigation, and gave precedence to the drainage function. Approximately half of the drainage district lies at or below spring tide level in the Humber Estuary and is reliant on pumped drainage for the efficient control of water levels.
The Board administers a drainage district covering some 20,000 Ha comprising of a predominantly rural lowland area which derives benefit from land drainage. The land drainage system receives water from a wider catchment extending over some 32,000 Ha including uplands which drain onto the lowland plain. The drainage district is situated in the vale of York extending from Bielby in the north running down to the River Humber where it fronts onto the estuary between Blacktoft and Brough. It extends westwards towards Bubwith and runs concurrent with the foothills of the East Yorkshire wolds between Market Weighton and North Cave. Settlements situated within the district include the villages of Holme upon Spalding Moor, Spaldington, Foggathorpe, Laytham, Seaton Ross, Bielby, Everingham, Newport and Broomfleet. For the avoidance of doubt the township of Market Weighton lies just outside the drainage district being situated on higher ground. Also, the town of Pocklington, where the Board is based, is also situated just outside the district being two miles north of the IDB boundary.
The Board derives its powers mainly from the Land Drainage Act 1991 together with local byelaws. The function of the Internal Drainage Board is to exercise general supervision over all matters relating to land drainage within its district and to carry out works. This includes the risk from flooding or waterlogging and the associated effect on human life, property, livestock, environmental habitat, agricultural land and other local infrastructure. The Board directly maintains an adopted network of main arterial watercourses totalling some 182km in length which serve the entire district. These arterial watercourses drain mostly into two main rivers, i.e. River Foulness and Market Weighton Canal, which in turn discharge into the Humber Estuary. The Board also operates nine land drainage pumping stations. It employs a staff of three based at Pocklington together with a small outside direct labour force. All machine work is carried out by local contractors.
The Board is a statutory non-profit making body with powers to levy rates and special levies, and to undertake works for the overall benefit of the local community. The Board comprises 16 members who are in the main farmers elected by agricultural ratepayers, and up to 10 members appointed by East Riding of Yorkshire Council, this being the sole special levy paying authority. A Board members duty is to act as a trustee on behalf of the general body of ratepayers, to represent the interests of his or her local electoral district or community sector, and to exercise his or her judgement in the interests of the drainage district as a whole. Elected members serve for a term of 3 years. The Chairman and Executive Committee are elected by the Board annually in November. The Executive Committee has certain delegated powers. A Steering Group has also been established to consider forward issues and to bring recommendations to the full Board. This committee has no plenary powers. Meetings of the Board are held quarterly, usually on the second Tuesday in the months of February, May, August, and November.
HISTORY OF THE DRAINAGE DISTRICT
Market Weighton Drainage Board is by reasons of various Acts of Parliament, the successor in title to the original drainage Commissioners appointed by an Act of Parliament in 1772. The 1772 Act was created to ‘drain and preserve certain Commons, Low Grounds, and Carrs in the Parish of Market Weighton and other adjacent parishes in the East Riding of Yorkshire, and for making a navigable Cut or Canal from Market Weighton to the River Humber’. The reason for this Act was that the parishes involved which covered some 50,000 acres were ‘subject to be overflowed or otherwise annoyed with water, and by that means rendered in a considerable degree unprofitable to the proprietors thereof’. The area was ‘subject to be overflowed’, as now, not merely because of rain falling directly upon it, but also because of the natural propensity of water to run downhill from the higher ground comprising the East Yorkshire wolds which border the drainage district on the eastern fringe. Today water is evacuated from the district into the River Humber through either a gravity outfall at Ellerker Clough near Brough, pumped outfalls at Crabley and Skelfleet Creeks, or via the Market Weighton Canal through the Weighton Lock sluice outfall near Broomfleet. Some 85% of the drainage district catchment area drains into the Market Weighton Canal, hence the importance of the Canal, and its main river outfall at Weighton Lock, can be clearly appreciated.
Prior to 1772 land in the lower part of the district consisted generally of marshland. Soils in the upper catchment are heavy and prone to waterlogging. The main agricultural land use at the time was as grazing pasture. This situation would probably have continued long after 1771 had it not been for the commercial impetus which led to the idea of a navigation canal intended to serve the township of Market Weighton. The construction of the canal was unique in that it combined the dual function of both navigation and drainage. In the early years there was some conflict of interest between these two respective roles and commercial pressures tended to support the navigation function which required high-retained water levels. This was to the disadvantage of the drainage. The canal reached to within two miles of Market Weighton. It thrived commercially for many years mainly due to traffic generated by the several brickworks which became established along its length in the Newport area.
With the advent of railways, particularly the York to Market Weighton line opened in 1847, traffic using the canal went into decline. The consequent loss of revenue led to a rapid deterioration in the condition of the canal such that in 1900 the Trustees sought an Act of Parliament to allow them to close the canal to navigation, and to devote it entirely to drainage. Although under the 1900 Act the drainage function became paramount, the navigation function was not entirely revoked. However, little was done to improve matters until after the formation of the present Board in 1934. IDBs were empowered to exercise general supervision over all matters relating to the drainage of land within their respective districts. Byelaws were established for this purpose. The River Foulness and the remaining open length of the Canal downstream of Sodhouses were transferred to the former Yorkshire River Authority in 1951 and are today classified as ‘main river’.
During the 1960’s the area suffered several years of intensive rainfall when flooding and waterlogging of land became a frequent occurrence. This led to increasing complaints from the farming community. The Ministry were also experiencing difficulty in effecting tile drainage schemes owing to inadequate outfalls. There had been an upsurge in agricultural activity after the Second World War and Government were pressing for increased food production. In order to alleviate these problems the Yorkshire River Authority agreed to carry out a scheme to prevent flooding and to improve drainage in the area. This consisted of conversion of the Canal and River Foulness into a highland carrier drain which involved raising banks, and widening and deepening the main river channel. Flood storage areas were constructed on both sides of the canal near Broomfleet. Complimentary to this work the Drainage Board undertook the construction of six pumping stations between 1975 and 1979 together with related drainage channel improvements. These provided for much greater freeboard to drainage in the area being served. The total cost of the Board’s works were £839,000, but with MAFF grant at 50% together with contributions from the EEC and DTp, the ratepayer was only required to fund some 30% of the cost. Later, during the 1980’s, the Board also undertook further major improvement works in the Broomfleet and South Cave area involving the construction of two more pumping stations situated at Crabley and Skelfleet Cloughs. The cost of this scheme totalling almost £1m attracted Ministry grant generally in the order of 32%. Effectively then some 40% of the drainage district stretching from North Cliffe down through Newport to Faxfleet and Crabley is now pump drained. In parallel with the Canal Area scheme the Board also undertook a number of other improvement works to the existing gravity drainage in the central, northern and western parts of the district, all with MAFF support in pursuance of improved agricultural crop yield.
The Humber lock sluices were converted to electro-mechanical operation by the YWA in or around 1970, and continued to be attended by a resident lock keeper. At this time agreement was reached with the YWA that water would be retained in the now enlarged Canal at a level of –0.250m AOD mainly for the benefit of the fishery. This compares with the designed normal flow level of –0.490m AOD appertaining to the main river improvement scheme. In 1994 the NRA undertook major overhaul and repair of the lock structure and sluices at a cost of some £1.5m.
Throughout the post war period there has been a transition from labour intensive maintenance work to machine based operations. It is recorded that in 1966, prior to the major improvements being carried out, the Board had a labour force numbering twenty-six men. Apparently in years gone by the number of men employed had been in excess of sixty. They carried scythes and used bicycles! Today the Board employs a four man gang equipped with a high specification all terrain vehicle. They are responsible for maintaining the present 120 mile long network of adopted watercourses, together with nine pumping stations, which together serve the greater catchment of some 32,000 Ha. All machine maintenance work is contracted out to local contractors on an annual tender basis.
In conclusion it can be seen that the foundation for the present land drainage in the district, and hence the use and occupation of the land, was first established by the construction of the Market Weighton Canal. This provided the main outfall, and later became part of main river. It allowed for the initial draining of the land, and throughout the period land in the lower catchment was being warped for the benefit of future generations. However, little advancement was made until after 1900 when more serious attention was given to ensuring the effectiveness of the drainage. The most significant period in the Board’s long history later came as a result of the demands being made on the agricultural sector during the post war period. In the twenty years between 1970 and 1990 the whole of the drainage district was provided with the effective and efficient land drainage infrastructure which it enjoys today.
Market Weighton drainage district lies in the vale of York situated immediately west of the East Yorkshire wolds. It comprises a substantial proportion of the natural floodplain. The eastern side of the district stretches between Market Weighton and Brough from where it fronts onto the Humber estuary between Brough and Blacktoft. The IDB district encompasses the villages of Newport, Broomfleet, Spaldington, Bubwith (Highfield), Foggathorpe, Laytham, Seaton Ross, Bielby and Everingham with Holme on Spalding Moor at its centre. The area is predominantly rural in character offering a wide range of agricultural land uses and cropping patterns. There is a good blend of areas of environmental interest including scattered blocks of woodland and also a site of scientific interest (SSSI) at South Cliffe Common. More recently a former quarry has been transformed by Yorkshire Wildlife Trust into a large wetland bird sanctuary situated at North Cave.
By definition the area covered by the drainage district consists essentially of low-lying land which is at some risk of flooding or waterlogging. Soils in the district consist mainly of slowly permeable seasonally waterlogged clays in the west, and more moderately permeable soils periodically waterlogged by fluctuating ground water in the east. This renders it essential for positive land drainage systems to be in place for agriculture to be possible and for settlements and communication links to exist. Much of the area is at risk of tidal flooding from the Humber estuary. There is also risk of fluvial flooding from main rivers which pass through the district and from those which run close by. Flood defence embankments are in place along the Humber estuary frontage to protect the area from tidal inundation. These defences are managed by the Environment Agency to give a 1 in 200 year standard of protection. Similarly all inland main rivers are where necessary suitably embanked to act as highland water carriers designed to a standard of 1 in 100 year event against fluvial flooding. Main rivers are managed by the Environment Agency. It is worth noting that the level of the Humber flood embankment is in the order of +5.5m AOD whereas the inland area around Newport and Broomfleet lies at between +2m AOD and +3m AOD.
Market Weighton Drainage Board directly maintains a network of some 182 km of main arterial watercourses or drainage channels including nine pumping stations. The northwest area of the district predominantly drains by gravity into main river (River Foulness and Market Weighton Canal). The southeast area of the district is extensively pump drained, primarily into the Market Weighton Canal. There are also two pumping stations discharging directly to the Humber at Crabley Creek. This network of main arterial watercourses reaches extensively into all parts of the district providing continuous routes of land drainage connecting upstream privately maintained tributary drains with downstream main river. This interconnecting network of drainage channels also provides a wide variety of graded field side margins which is of importance to wildlife conservation and biodiversity.
Approximately 80% of the catchment drains into the Humber estuary via the Market Weighton Canal. The canal was first constructed as a combined navigation and drainage channel although it no longer serves as a navigation. Because of this the outfall arrangements into the Humber consist of two vertical sluice gates together with the former ship lock fitted with pointed doors. This outfall is effectively tide locked and will only drain between tides. When the sluices are closed against the tide water backs up in the main river channel and can under extreme conditions back well up into the gravity drainage system. Some low-lying land forming the natural river corridor will occasionally become flooded.
The entire land drainage system is designed and configured to serve the rural land use which has historically been in place through time. Its overall capacity is limited primarily to what would be the natural flow of water through and from agricultural land. Drainage channels and pumping stations are designed to handle surface water draining into the system at these agricultural rates of flow. Similarly, because of the tidal restrictions placed on main river which limit its capacity to hold water, the discharge from pumping stations cannot be increased above what is already in place. Essentially then the entire land drainage system in this area can only handle the normal flow of water which would naturally flow from typical rural land use. There is little scope for introducing additional flows of water into the existing drainage system which must now be considered to be at or near its limit of capacity.
If the land drainage system of flood defences ceased to be maintained or were neglected or abandoned the consequences would be serious. Land would remain waterlogged, water would pond on the surface, and parts of the area may become subject to tidal inundation. Agricultural production would become unsustainable, farms would go out of business and the rural economy would collapse. Some low-lying properties would flood or at best suffer damp, and septic tank outfalls would become restricted causing pollution. Communication networks and underground services may become damaged or disrupted.
Although the area is predominantly rural in character there are a number of village settlements in place. These are continuing to expand with increased migration taking place from urban communities. There is also a small amount of industrial development where good motorway links exist. Such increasing development which creates additional hard surface areas places greater pressure on the rural land drainage system. The Drainage Board, through the planning consultation process, consistently seeks to control surface water drainage discharges from new development to the equivalent of normal agricultural run off prior to entry into the rural land drainage system. The reason for this is to avoid overburdening of the system which is limited in capacity thereby reducing the potential risk of flooding. This can be achieved in a number of ways by adopting the use of sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) as set down in PPS25. Such systems might for example include joint user on site storage systems integrated within estate developments. It is important in all such cases that proper adoption arrangements are put in place for the adequate ongoing maintenance of any such systems by a competent authority.
There are indications that climate change is taking place on a global scale. More extremes in weather patterns are already being experienced resulting in more intense precipitation and prolonged periods of wetness. This places even greater demands on the land drainage system which is already limited in capacity. Sea levels are rising continuously creating greater risk of flooding from estuary tidal waters, while at the same time more intense rainfall creates even greater risk of fluvial flooding. Rising tide levels further restrict gravity discharge times through main river estuary sluices thereby combining to create increased risk of flooding inland where greater volumes of water are required to be stored within the system over extended periods between tides. The net result of this situation is that without any increase in development the drainage situation will continue to worsen due entirely to natural causes.
Taking all these issues into account, including the need for agricultural production to operate efficiently and for environmental areas to be protected, there is an essential ongoing need to maintain land drainage and flood defence systems in good condition fit for purpose at all times. This is becoming increasingly difficult to achieve for a number of reasons.
Funding is always a serious issue. Government grants have been curtailed, special levy paying Councils are anxious to lower council taxes and there is decline in the agricultural sector creating difficulties for drainage ratepayers. At the same time there is a growing need to ensure adequate maintenance of land drainage infrastructure. There is a plethora of new legislation and regulation much of which impinges on the work of IDBs thereby making it increasingly difficult to undertake essential tasks. At the same time the consequences of climate change are creating greater pressures on the land drainage system. It is unlikely that the landscape characteristics of the drainage district will change significantly in the short term but there will be a naturally evolving situation. It is possible that continued decline in the agricultural sector will lead to agriculturalists seeking routes of diversification. This will probably result in a change of use of agricultural land given over to leisure, amenity, tourism or conservation. The fundamental requirement for on going land drainage and flood defence will remain essentially the same but will also assume a higher degree of criticality.