The Salford flood scheme is a £10 million project which will protect almost 2,000 homes and businesses.
The project can hold more than 250 Olympic-sized swimming pools of water during a flood and includes more than 5 hectares of urban wetland habitat.
The Salford scheme delivers on a long-held vision to not only create a flood storage basin in Salford – to reduce the risk of flooding from the River Irwell – but also to provide a boost to local wildlife populations by including a high quality urban wetland habitat, according to the Environment Agency.
Wetlands provide many benefits to society such as slowing the flow of water, reducing flood risk, filtering water and capturing carbon. Their importance is increasing as a result of climate and land use change.
The Environment Agency has just released this drone footage of the Salford flood scheme.