The Aire's Fury 28/12/15

A Stroll along the Aire from Whitehall Road to the Royal Armouries.

As anyone should be aware, on Boxing Day 2015, rain in the wake of Atlantic storm Eva brought flooding to many parts of Lancashire and Yorkshire, causing record peak flow on many rivers and causing at least six major rivers to burst their banks to bring devastation and misery in their wakes. I managed to personally avoid the worst of the weather, having been celebrating Christmas with My Parents in Leicester but on return to the North Country it made sense to put on my boots and do something useful, though personal involvement in the clean up operations was probably beyond my scope. Travelling to aid my friends in Mytholmroyd was out of the question with the town centre still underwater, and heading out to Kirkstall was improbable due to the flooding of the A65, and so I had to limit myself to where was straightforwardly accessible, and that would be the banks of the Aire through the city of Leeds. Even two days after the rain had passed the river was still elevated and full of fury, providing a handy reminder that when nature chooses, all of the will and engineering of humanity can do little to contain it, and the implacable natural forces unleashed will do their thing with little regard for what has been put in their way.



Upstream from Whitehall Road bridge, the Aire may have dropped from its peak but it still
rides well above its usual level and roars with a fury that you wouldn't normally hear.

Below Whitehall Road bridge, the river had flowed over the banks on both sides, flattening the vegetation
but had not run into the adjacent canal. Debris in the trees shows some indication of the peak level.

 

Upstream from Whitehall Riverside. No danger of flooding here, but again the volume of
water is alarming and drops into the dark Arches with much more rage than usual.

Upstream below the Dark Arches and above Victoria bridge. The new south entrance to the Railway
station has caused a dynamic change in the river channel, requiring an elevated wall on the south bank. It seems
water had surged over this at peak, the river running almost level with the Granary Wharf canal basin.

Downstream behind ASDA House. The new retaining wall is incomplete at its eastern end, causing heavy silt
deposits to be dropped onto the cycleway, the water finding the path of least resistance after being enclosed. 

Further flooding residue at Bridge End. The peak surge had seen water flood all the way across Meadow Lane, and causing significant difficulties for the local businesses, the Old Red Lion and the Adelphi having their cellars flooded.

Downstream from Leeds Bridge, already well down from where it had been the previous night, but still
running at a level that has me glad I never sought out the option of riverside living back in 2007.

The car parks around Navigation Walk had all been heavily silted, it's fortunate that the recent developments
do not have ground floor dwellings, but the aquatic garden in the old flax wharf has been utterly destroyed.

Above Centenary Bridge, the Brewery Wharf bank heavily littered with debris and silt, whilst the barge moored on
the north side had been jammed under the balcony of the apartment building above when the river was at its peak.

Below Centenary bridge, the Brewery wharf jetty has been severely damaged, certainly beyond repair,
 whilst the flats were mostly protected by their slight elevation above the river bank.

Downstream above Crown Point bridge, more silting and debris down here, some of it as large as a tree,
the bridge collecting a fair tonnage of waste with its protective fence bent out of shape by its weight.

Adjacent to Crown Point bridge, its apparent just how far the water surged as it backed up below the bridge,
probably a pretty alarming experience for anyone living in the neighbouring apartment buildings.

Downstream from Crown Point bridge, the peak flow had caused Leeds weir to completely vanish below
 the water levels, with the emergency jetty from the railway station development caught on the barrier.

The north bank walkway has captured a fair quantity of silt as the widening channel of the Aire south of Crown
Point has caused significant flooding on both banks, the elevation again saving the flats along East Street.

The flats of Turlow Court haven't been so fortunate, the car parks getting muddied up and water getting into the
lowest levels of the building. The pictures shared by a colleague who lived locally to here are pretty hilarious.

Leeds Lock from Millennium bridge. Inundated for the second time in a year at peak flow,
when the 2007 floods had caused it to be flooded for the first time in living memory.

The deepest depth of silting was to be found on the banks at the entrance to Clarence Dock,
several inches deep here, whilst the marina itself was protected by its flood lock, a robust
19th century construction that has survived all the river surges it has experienced, so far.

Leeds Lock again, coated in debris, showing just how high the river had risen during the Boxing Day surge,
providing a very visual reminder of just how much potential force comes with even the most placid of rivers.

The jetty at Royal Armouries has been destroyed to, meaning there will be no moorings or angling along here for
a while, whilst the path of the Trans Pennine Trail has has its surface largely scoured away by the flooding. 

Downstream towards Knowsthorpe. That's as far as I'll be going today, as the development
moves away from the riverbanks and the Aire's flood plains, south of Leeds, take over to absorb
the floodwaters as they arrive and pass. The riverside clean up is sure to take months to complete.

The Clean up has already started outside the Royal Armouries, having been almost totally surrounded by the peak floods. Even in this modern age, the best methods of clean up seem to involve hose, shovel and wheelbarrow.

Next Up: The closing thoughts of 2015.