Walham is a village in Longford parish, north of Gloucester, England. It lies on the banks of the River Severn and north of the A40 road.
A National Grid substation, providing power to half a million homes and the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), is situated at Walham. The substation came to national prominence in July 2007, when it was threatened by a major flood. The fire service and military stopped the flood waters two inches below the height at which the plant would flood. This struggle with nature was dubbed the "Battle for Walham" in national newspapers.[1][2]
The village
editThis section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (April 2011) |
The village is effectively a suburb of Gloucester, which is to its south.[3]
Battle for Walham
editThe Battle for Walham was the fight by emergency services and the Environment Agency to save the National Grid 400 kV substation at Walham. When the River Severn burst its banks during the Gloucestershire floods of 2007, the fire brigade, Army, Royal Navy, Royal Air Force and the Environment Agency joined forces to save the threatened substation.
The water came within two inches of overtopping (flooding) the substation controls before receding.
The Environment Agency's Rivers and Coastal Group committee were unanimous in their decision to award the Chairman's Award prize jointly to the Environment Agency and Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue teams for their work to save Walham.[4][5]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "The Floods - 10 years on". Gloucestershire Live. Archived from the original on 27 December 2018. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
- ^ "Battle to save Walham sub-station from flooding - 10 years on". BBC News. Archived from the original on 2 May 2021. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
- ^ "Maps". www.bing.com. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
- ^ http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/news/1827418?lang=_e®ion=&projectstatus=&theme=&subject=&searchfor=&topic=&area=&month=. Retrieved 2 January 2008.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ "Prime minister visits flood teams". BBC News. 25 July 2007. Archived from the original on 2 May 2021. Retrieved 1 January 2008.
51°52′44″N 2°15′2″W / 51.87889°N 2.25056°W
 | This Gloucestershire location article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |