Nearly 700 homes and businesses in the path of floodwaters from the River Gaunless have been protected by an award-winning dam and lake scheme.

The scheme, in West Auckland and South Church near Bishop Auckland, was fast-tracked after the 2000 floods and this week won the Green Apple Award, for good environmental practice, not only during construction but also as an overall part of the design, which will greatly benefit local residents in the future.

The most important part of the scheme is a fifteen metre high dam upstream of Spring Gardens in West Auckland that works by storing water during flood conditions, then releasing it slowly. It can store up to a million cubic metres of water, forming a kilometre-long lake behind the dam.

Special ‘hydrobrakes’ allow the water to be released at a controlled rate, preventing it spilling out of the river channel downstream and alleviating floods.

The dam was built reusing as much on-site material as possible to reduce the number of lorry deliveries and cut the environmental impact and disturbance to the local community. By adopting innovative construction techniques it’s estimated that 12,000 lorry deliveries were saved.

Over 32,000 trees and shrubs were planted and an eleven-hectare site near Spring Gardens is currently being transformed into a valuable wildlife wetland habitat, with reed beds, ponds and water meadows. An abandoned railway line was transformed into a 2.4-km nature and exercise trail, with benches, viewing points and grassy seating areas.

During the presentation ceremony at the Houses of Parliament the Green Apple Award judges praised the use of sustainable construction processes and the overall scheme design.

The project was undertaken by the Environment Agency and its partners, Durham County Council, Wear Valley District Council, and the Heritage Lottery Fund. The funding for the scheme came from the Northumbria Flood Defence Committee and DEFRA.