Central Street Infant and Nursery School: Flood Resilience Scheme

Client: Department for Education / Central Street Infant and Nursery School

Industry: Education

Location: Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire

Case Study at a Glance

After experiencing multiple severe floods, including major events in 2015 and 2020, Central Street Infant & Nursery School commissioned Watertight International to design and install a bespoke Property Flood Resilience (PFR) scheme.  

The completed scheme protected multiple access points across the building and integrated flood resistance, internal resilience, drainage protection and early-warning measures to minimise flood risk.

The Challenge

Central Street Infant and Nursery School experienced significant flooding, impacting internal areas of the site.

The school building is a large multi-wing structure with multiple entrance points, historic building fabric, low ground floor thresholds and complex drainage routes. These factors created several potential pathways for floodwater to enter the building, through door openings, drainage backflow, service penetrations and surface water runoff.

The project required a comprehensive Property Flood Resilience solution that would protect the building envelope, manage internal water intrusion, and prevent drainage backflow. It also had to be delivered safely, ensuring minimal disruption to the live school environment during installation.

Our Approach

Watertight International developed a multi-layered flood resilience strategy, combining resistance, preparedness and drainage management measures.

A detailed site assessment identified 11 key building access points requiring flood protection, along with drainage vulnerabilities and internal water management needs.

The assessment informed a coordinated scheme covering external barriers, drainage protection and flood preparedness.

Flood Resistance Measures

• 11 demountable aluminium flood barriers protecting key door openings.

• Barriers designed to 900mm protection height.

Internal Flood Resilience

• 13 automatic puddle pumps installed internally to remove water entering the building.

• 1 sump pump installed in the lift shaft to manage groundwater and internal flooding.

Drainage Protection

• Installation of non-return valves (NRVs) across the drainage system to prevent floodwater backing up through sewer connections.

Flood Preparedness

• Integration with the Resilico flood alert and monitoring platform, providing the school with early warning capability and a flood response plan.

The school remained operational throughout the project, so installation required careful planning and coordination. This required full site inductions, safeguarding protocols, enhanced DBS checks for operatives, controlled work zones to protect pupils and staff, and installation sequencing to minimise disruption to teaching spaces.

Results

The project significantly improved the school’s ability to remain operational during flood events, reduce damage to internal infrastructure, and supports faster recovery following extreme weather.

The scheme demonstrates a layered resilience approach by combining traditional flood resistance measures, internal water management systems, drainage engineering solutions and digital flood preparedness tools.

This integrated strategy ensures that if water overflows external barriers, internal resilience measures continue to protect the building.

The completed scheme delivered a comprehensive flood resilience solution for the school, delivering:

• 11 protected access points across the building envelope

• 13 automated pump systems providing internal flood management

• Drainage system protected from backflow flooding

• Surface water reduction installed to minimise runoff pressure

• Resilico flood alerts and a flood plan providing early warning capabilities.

By protecting a community education facility, the project strengthened resilience for pupils, staff and local families, reduced future disruption caused by flooding, and supports community resilience and continuity of education.

Together, the resistance, drainage and early warning measures give the school a coordinated defence against future flood events and a stronger basis for rapid recovery.

“This project reflects our commitment to creating flood resilience measures that are designed around the needs of the communities they serve. Through close collaboration and a focus on recovery and preparedness, we have helped deliver lasting protection and resilience.”
– Mark Arrowsmith, Operations Director, Watertight International