A new service which allows people to get forecasts for river levels to help them manage their risk of flooding is available in the Calder Valley.

It is being provided by the Environment Agency on the website Gov.UK and shows a 36 hour forecast alongside observed data for the past 5 days. The service covers the River Calder at Walsden, Todmorden, Hebden Bridge, Mytholmroyd and Sowerby Bridge. The aim is to help people be more aware of risks and be able to plan for potential flood incidents.

Previously, people could view river levels for the previous 5 days, but now they can search by postcode on the river and sea levels service page and see what levels are expected to look like for these rivers over the next 36 hours. These new river forecasts are calculated by computer models that take into account data like current flows and expected rainfall.

The introduction of this service follows a successful pilot for people living in the community, including flood wardens, between March and June 2017. The plan is to continue to refine the service, based on feedback from users, before it is rolled out more widely in the future.

Forecast information can change quickly, often because of the weather, so people are still advised to sign up for our free flood warning service to get the most up-to-date and accurate situation. our flood warning service is updated every 15 minutes.

Why do residents find it useful?

Simon Hildon, from the Environment Agency’s flood resilience team in Calderdale, said:

We are always looking at ways to use technology to better share information with people. Residents have told us that they would find it really useful to see these river forecasts to help them manage their flood risk.

We want people to know if they’re at risk of flooding, be prepared, and take action to protect themselves and their families. A wealth of information is available on our website and we’d encourage everyone to check whether they’re at risk.

Mytholmroyd flood warden says river forecasts help them

Karl Boggis, one of the flood wardens in Mytholmroyd, said:

As flood wardens we use the river levels service to see what is happening at, not just, our measuring station, but also those up stream. Having the addition of the 36 hours of forecasted level, helps us better prepare and inform our community of what might be expected.

People who live in areas where the 36-hour river level forecasts are not available yet can still view data on river levels from the previous 5 days and check for flood warnings.

David Marr, master of UK registered fishing vessel Honeybourne III (PD905) and owner Macduff Shellfish (Scotland) Ltd. were sentenced at Worthing Magistrates Court on 24 November 2017 in a prosecution brought by the MMO.

The court heard how an inspection by MMO officers on 9 March 2017 found a quantity of scallops below the allowed minimum size in the catch of the Honeybourne III at Shoreham.

Both defendants entered guilty pleas. Macduff Shellfish was ordered to pay a £23,264 fine, £4,000 costs and a £170 victim surcharge. David Marr was ordered to pay a fine of £1,000, £375.50 costs and a £100 victim surcharge.

A spokesperson for the MMO said:

The court in this case considered these offences to be serious in nature and imposed significant penalties, which recognises the scale of offending that took place and the potential risk of these offences on stocks.

In these cases the MMO will always take the appropriate action, including prosecution, to ensure offenders do not profit from such illegal activity and to protect fish stocks for the wider fishing industry and future generations.

If you comply with the conditions in this regulatory position statement (RPS), you do not need to apply a hazardous waste classification for waste wood from mixed waste wood sources.

This RPS will be withdrawn on 30 September 2019. This will give the waste wood industry time to do both of the following:

• deliver a code of practice which meets the legal requirements to assess and classify waste wood as approved by the Environment Agency
• implement compliance with that code of practice

You must tell us about an emergency abstraction within 5 days of starting the abstraction.

If 5 days have already passed please contact your local Environment Agency office.

Complete the application form for a water resources licence part A to tell us about you and the type of licence you are applying for.

Complete the application form for a water resources licence part B to tell us what you want the water for.

Evidence we need to support your application

You must provide evidence that abstraction took place during the 7 year qualifying period before the exemption was removed. Examples of evidence include:

• meter readings
• invoices for equipment
• photos of infrastructure
• business receipts or contracts

See the document on this page called ‘New authorisations evidence guide’ for more information.

Quantities of water

You must tell us about the quantities of water you have abstracted during the 7 year qualifying period.

If you do not measure the quantities of water you abstract, you must give us estimates and calculations to support the quantities that you have applied for.

The main ways to work out your quantities are:

• flow metering
• spot flow measurement
• theoretical hydraulic calculation

For surface water abstractions that you have not metered, we recommend that you do abstraction spot flow measurements. This will give you an estimate of the volumes you are taking. You will not need to give us more evidence if you do this correctly.

If you cannot carry out spot flow measurements or meter your abstraction, please complete the document on this page called ‘New authorisations structure table and volume validation: form WR365’ to calculate your abstraction rate.

Pay by debit or credit card

Pay for your licence by debit or credit card (form CC1).