Tackling flood risk with nature-inspired drainage solutions in Garrowhill

An innovative City Deal project has reduced flood risk in a Garrowhill neighbourhood by diverting rainfall into a drainage basin in Early Braes Park, before it flows into the Tollcross Burn.

Removing surface water from the combined sewer network in this way decreases flood risk and creates additional drainage capacity to support local regeneration. The new infrastructure also slows the water flow and treats it for pollutants before discharge into the burn, re-establishing the natural drainage pattern that existed before the development of Glasgow.

Glasgow City Council is behind the £1.23m City Deal project, backed by funding of just under £530,000 each from both the UK and Scottish Governments. Delivered through the Metropolitan Glasgow Strategic Drainage Partnership, the new water management infrastructure aims to reduce the negative social and economic impacts of flooding whilst also enhancing the park’s natural environment.

Following preparatory work by Network Rail in 2023 to create an under-track crossing between Pendeen Road and Early Braes Park, the council disconnected significant areas of impermeable road surface from the sewer network in the Pendeen Road area. This allowed surface water to be re-routed into the newly constructed drainage basin.

A flood storage embankment has also been built in Early Braes Park that can temporarily hold back up to 17,500m3 of water during high flows in the Tollcross Burn, further reducing the likelihood of downstream flooding for nearby communities.

The City Deal project which is part of the wider Garrowhill Surface Water Management Plan, previously delivered significant greenspace improvements in Early Braes Park, as part of first phase works in 2021. This included the creation of biodiversity scrapes – wet habitat features that are attractive to wildlife, and the planting of wildflower meadows to improve the park’s natural appeal and habitat diversity. The drainage basin was also created at this time in readiness for the final phase of work.

Cllr Susan Aitken, Leader of Glasgow City Council and Chair of Glasgow City Region Cabinet said: “This innovative project in Garrowhill has harnessed the natural features of Early Braes Park to better manage surface water. By decreasing the likelihood of flooding, the risk and impacts on homes and businesses from heavy rainfall are reduced as well as increasing Garrowhill’s development potential.

“The project has also delivered extremely pleasing greenspace improvements in the park, and we are already seeing the biodiversity benefits with frogspawn now spotted for the first time, and evidence that the local water voles are still thriving within the park following the construction activity.

“By combining infrastructure that helps manage excess surface water, with complementary measures that increase the attractiveness of the park for wildlife and visitors, the overall benefits delivered by this project benefits have been greatly widened.”

Also delivered in Garrowhill as part of the wider City Deal funded work was an initiative to in 2021 to bring Tollcross Burn back to the surface in Sandyhills Park after years of being enclosed in a pipe below ground. The project to ‘daylight’ a section of the burn was successfully undertaken in conjunction with the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) through their Water Environment Fund, and Scottish Water.