Norton & Raveningham Pumping Station Project

The Norfolk and Suffolk Broads are Britain’s largest protected wetland, supporting more than a quarter of our rarest flora and fauna. The Broads are a man-made landscape with the river system perched above the surrounding floodplain. The only way to manage water levels is to pump excess water from the surrounding floodplain up into the river.

The Waveney, Lower Yare & Lothingland Internal Drainage Board (WLYLDB) worked closely our delivery partners Jacobs UK Ltd (designer, principal designer, supervisor and environmental support) and BAM Nuttall (principal contractor). Other specialist subcontractors included Aquatic Control Engineering (Fish Flow Innovations and Landustrie), Max Wright Ltd, and Lee Dickens Ltd.

Benefits

The Norton pumping station delivers multiple benefits:

• Flood Protection: Protects property, agricultural land, National Rail infrastructure, public highways, and utility infrastructure.
• Climate Resilience: Rising sea levels and a changing climate make the Broads increasingly vulnerable. A 50% increase in capacity helps safeguards against these predictions.
• Environmental Protection: The station manages water levels within 788 hectares of sensitive conservation grazing and agricultural land. This provides important habitat for populations of qualifying species associated with designated nature conservation sites within the Broads. These are termed ‘functional habitats’ and are critical to maintaining
• Favourable Conservation Status by maximising the ecological potential and enabling the habitats and species, associated with the designated sites, to thrive.
• Fish Friendly: The pumping arrangement has been designed to minimise external stresses on any fish/eels passing through the station.
• Sustainability: Consolidating two catchments into one reduces capital and operational costs and carbon.
• Community Value: Engagement has included school visits, a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) competition to name the pumps, apprenticeship opportunities, and donating a community bench and undertaking repairs at the local parish church.
• Recognition: The project was awarded 2024 Large Project of the Year at the Institution of Civil Engineers East of England Awards in recognition of its importance enhancing the regions resilience to climate change and protecting vital habitats and communities.