The Foss barrier – York, UK
Posted by: 
dtrebilc
N 53° 57.134 W 001° 04.693
30U E 626108 N 5979917
A barrier that can be lowered into the River Foss, to prevent backflow from the larger River Ouse when flooding is likely.
Waymark Code: WMB3C7
Location: Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 03/30/2011
Views: 7
The city of York is quite low lying and has the River Ouse and the smaller River Foss flowing through it.
York has been flooded on many occasions and when this happens water from the River Ouse used to flow back into the Foss.
In order to prevent this from happening and to reduce the flood risk this barrier was built in 1987 after episodes of serious flooding in 1978 and 1982. The barrier has received an award from the Institute of Civil Engineering. It is situated near to the confluence of the Ouse and the Foss.
The barrier is lowered when the height of the river reaches 7.8 metres and weighs 16.5 tonnes. It takes about 4 minutes for the barrier to descend from its resting horizontal position to the vertical. There is a pumping station attached to pump water that would normally flow past the gate over it and into the River Ouse. The barrier is manned and maintained by the Environment Agency.
York suffered another serious flood in 2000 and the barrier had to remain lowered for 18 days. Although this stopped the Foss flooding, there was still extensive flooding caused by the River Ouse.
Waterway where the dam is located: River Foss
Main use of the Water Dam: Flood Control
Material used in the structure: masonry
Height of Dam: 10.2 metres
Date built: 01/01/1987
Fishing Allowed: no
Motor Sports Allowed: no
|
Visit Instructions:
Photo of the Dam and a description of your visit.