Prepare your property
- Important items and documents upstairs or at height
- Separate electrical circuit for upper and lower floors
- Boiler moved to upper floor of wall-mounted on ground floor
Source to Sea is our response to the climate and nature emergencies. It’s will make South Yorkshire more resilient to issues such as flooding and drought.
Natural flood management techniques are the focus of this programme. That means reducing flood risk by restoring and mimicking the natural functions of catchments, floodplains and rivers. We aim to slow and hold water by protecting and restoring landscape features like wet woodlands. Find out more about different natural flood management features.
Natural flood management is only one of the environmental benefits that Source to Sea delivers. Others include improvements in water quality, biodiversity, resilience to drought, and carbon absorption. It also enhances environments for communities to enjoy. For that reason, we often use the term nature-based solutions.
River Don catchment
Began in 2021 and ongoing
Source to Sea is a collaboration between many partners and stakeholders with a wide range of expertise, including:
So far we’ve secured almost £2 million for several projects. We will need an estimated further £40 million to achieve our aspirations for the whole of Source to Sea.
Covering most of South Yorkshire, the Don catchment contains a varied landscape. It encompasses upland hills in the Peak District and the headwaters of the Rother in Derbyshire and the Dearne near Barnsley. And it takes in the lowlands around Doncaster, where the Lower River Don reaches the tidal Ouse at the head of the Humber estuary.
Taking these varied geographies and political boundaries into account, the Source to Sea programme is split into three workstreams: Upper Don, Middle Don and Lower Don.
Credit: Connected By Water
1. Peatland restoration
Blocking drainage gullies and increasing peat-building plants helps to store water, reduce erosion and lock in carbon. Normally in the upper catchment unless there is lowland peat.
2. Leaky barriers
Logs placed across streams/channels to slow the flow during storms. Can be used throughout the catchment.
3. Woodland creation & restoration
Trees take up and evaporate water and increase absorption into the ground through their root systems. Can be used throughout the catchment.
4. Cross slope hedgerows
Planted in the path of water to absorb water and slow its flow. Can be used throughout the catchment.
5. Attenuation ponds
Ponds used to store extra water before slowly releasing. Can be used throughout the catchment.
6. Bunds and scrapes
Raised ground and hollows to temporarily hold water flows back. Like attenuation ponds but don’t hold water all of the time. Can be used throughout the catchment.
7. River restoration
Restoring the path of the river after previous human intervention. Often includes rewiggling the river. Can be used throughout the catchment.
8. Soil & land management
Aerating soil, planting winter cover crops and increasing buffer strips at field boundaries can help ground hold more water. Can be used throughout the catchment.
9. Wet woodland
A type of woodland creation/restoration. The woodland holds water most of the time and extra water during storms. Can be used throughout the catchment.
10. Offline storage
Channelling the flow of water to be held in areas not connected to the river. Can be used throughout the catchment.
11. Buffer strips
Trees/vegetation alongside watercourses that help slow the flow into them. Can be used throughout the catchment.
12. Floodplain reconnection
Allowing water to be stored temporarily, outside of the river and where it would naturally go in times of high flow. Used in middle catchment and lower catchment.
This programme covers the upper catchment of the River Don. The area contains moorland within the Peak District National Park, transitioning through farmland to urban areas towards Sheffield. The headwaters of the Don flow through a range of environments, such as peatland, steep sided wooded valleys and grazed farmland. This varied land use provides many opportunities to reduce flood risk and improve biodiversity.
From the Little Don to the River Loxley and Sheaf catchments, our Source to Sea projects demonstrate a range of nature-based solutions across Sheffield’s uplands. We worked with Sheffield and Rotherham Wildlife Trust and the Steel Valley Project on these projects. They show how we can work with natural processes on both publicly owned and privately farmed land. On each, we are reducing flood risk while enhancing environmental, economic and social benefits.
Leaky dams in Stocksbridge, Sheffield – Credit: Steel Valley Project
Attenuation pond at Lady Canning’s Plantation – Credit: Environment Agency
Three initial projects in the Sheffield area were “demonstrators.” We used them to showcase natural flood management techniques and delivery through collaborative partnerships.
Our nature-based solutions around Chesterfield, Rotherham and Barnsley aim to reduce flood risk while enhancing water quality, biodiversity and carbon absorption.
We have ambitious plans to expand established work and develop new opportunities, such as:
Attenuation pond in Grassmoor County Park, Chesterfield – Credit: Environment Agency
The catchment of the Lower River Don is mostly low-lying land. It has a complex, interconnected system of engineered defences, including embankments, walls, and storage reservoirs. These defences provide protection against flooding but there is still risk that we cannot eliminate. For some communities, this risk will increase with climate change. The Lower Don Source to Sea programme will reassess the current approach to flood risk management across Doncaster.
Bentley Flood Corridor, River Don – Credit: Environment Agency
1. Nature-based solutions focussing on developing climate resilience and natural flood management techniques. Including sustainable land management, wetland creation, optimising existing floodplain storage, and tree planting.
2. A strategic asset review. Evaluating the condition of the structures involved in flood defence and water management, such as embankments, walls and pumping stations. This review will identify what works are necessary.
Further information on natural flood management projects:
Further information on nature-based solutions: