Fishlake Flooding – River Don, South Yorkshire

Fishlake is a village to the North East of Doncaster in South Yorkshire home to approximately 700 people. It especially rose to national fame in recent times due to the unfortunate flooding in November 2019, as the banks of the river Don burst flooding many homes and businesses in the area.

As experts in flood damage who cover that part of South Yorkshire we helped many people in the village to restore and dry their properties after that flood damage. In this article we will explain a little more about the village of Fishlake and the events that led up to the flooding in 2019 too.

Fishlake Floods of 2019

On the 7th and 8th of November 2019 many parts of the UK including South Yorkshire suffered from very heavy rainfall. It is thought that in some places up to two months of rainfall fell in a 24 hour period. Towns and cities nearby such as Sheffield and Doncaster where badly affected, but Fishlake itself with one of the worst affected areas, with a high proportion of properties affected.

The village sits close to the banks of the river Don and has flood defences in place but on the night in question they were overwhelmed and overtopped flooding much of the village of Fishlake. As a result, a very large number of properties in the area were flooded with many people having to be evacuated from their properties.

Many parts of the village were cut off as roads into the area we’re flooded too making it impossible for regular traffic to access it. Some of the roads affected in Fishlake include – Main Street, Fishlake Nab, Pinfold Lane, Dirty Lane, Trundle Lane, Sour Lane and Grove Road. And the area around St Cuthbert’s in Fishlake too.

Shortly after the floods His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, Prince Charles (now King Charles) was one of the visitors to the area. the local Church of Saint Cuthbert’s was the hub of the community during this time along with the village hall.

Fishlake Flood Defences

As we mentioned above, Fishlake village already had some flood defences in place some of which can be seen in the picture below:

Since the events of November 2019 the Environment Agency has improved the Fishlake flood defences. You can see from this gov.uk flood risk map for Fishlake that parts of the village remain at flood risk at the time of writing this. Interestingly on the 21st of February 2022 river levels for the River Don at Fishlake broke the previous record hitting levels of 6.95 metres however all the fields in the village and around were flooded the properties in the area were largely unscathed, at great relief to the local residents of the village.

During that time the Environment Agency deployed many large scale pumps to remove water from the area this continued for a period of time.

The River Don – Fishlake, South Yorkshire

You can see on our map of Yorkshire rivers where the river Don flowers flows from and to. Here is a quick summary off the river Don:

• Overview – the River Don is one of is one of South Yorkshire’s most famous rivers from its source, it flows eastwards then south east towards the city of Sheffield. From that point it flows north east through through Rotherham where it reaches a confluence with the River Rother (giving its name to Rotherham) before continuing onwards towards Doncaster, passing the village of Fishlake. After that point it continues to flow north east towards goal where it reaches a confluence with the River Ouse.
• The Source of the River Don – the river Don rises in the Pennines northwest of Sheffield
• The End of the River Don –  as mentioned above the river Don terminate close to Goole in East Yorkshire
• Locations on the River Don – apart from those mentioned above other towns and villages on the river Don include Swinton, Mexborough, Conisbrough and Thorne.
• The River Don Length – the River Don is 70 miles long or 113 kilometres
• River Don Waterfalls – the most famous waterfalls on the river Don at the Sprotbrough Falls
• The River Don Catchment Area –  the river Don combined with its tributaries of the river rather than River Dearne together have a catchment area of 714 square miles or 1850 kilometres squared. around 1.5 million people live in this area.

River Level – Fishlake, South Yorkshire

You can check the river levels for Fishlake on the Environment Agency website, with river levels updated every 15minutes. Interestingly, when you look at that page, you can see how there are tidal variances in the river levels. This can contribute to flooding, by slowing the flow of the river.

We mention the Fishlake floods in our Flood Safety Guide

Flooded Property

As you can imagine having your property flooded can be a devastating occurrence and an uncertain time. at Rainbow Restoration we are experienced in dealing with flood damage and help people to recover and restore their properties back to normal. We carry out our work sensitively and compassionately, communicating with you along the away.

if you have being flooded or suffered from major water damage such as from a water leak contact our friendly team today to discuss how we can help.

Alternatively if you need leak detection in South Yorkshire, we cover a number of those areas too. ATP testing can be used to gauge levels of contamination after a flood.

Other Services We Offer in the Area around Fishlake

• Trace and Access, water leak detection
• Damp and Mould surveys in properties including mould on walls
• This can include the use of air scrubbers for air quality
• Fire Damage Services
• Asbestos Testing and removal
• A variety of other Damage Management Services

We are experts in dealing with flood water damage for people in the area, so if you have been flooded, please contact our friendly team to arrange for help and guidance. We also deal with Yorkshire water leaks in local homes and businesses. Here are the local areas we cover.

At Rainbow Restoration – York & Yorkshire Coast we are experts in Leak Detection, including Commercial Leak Detection and also Water Damage Restoration, so if you need help finding a water leak or getting your property back to normal after a leak or flood, get in touch with our friendly local team who will be happy to help you with this. We are based in Yorkshire.

What causes the River Don to flood in Fishlake?

The River Don flows very close to Fishlake in South Yorkshire and passes several large towns and cities along the way, most notably Sheffield, Rotherham and Doncaster. The River Don is a relatively long river and has other rivers feeding into it including the River Rother and River Loxley. When Fishlake floods, in recent times, it has usually followed a period or long, persistent or heavy rainstorms in the locality of the areas feeding the River Don. This can mean that even the Fishlake flood defences can be overwhelmed.

When did Fishlake last flood?

At the time of writing this in mid-2022, the last major flooding in Fishlake was in the month of November 2019 when heavy rainfall lead to the River Don bursting its banks close to the village. This flooded many properties at the time and had a devastating effect on the local community. Since then the environment agency has spent money improving the defences and, since then, there has not been major flooding like that seen in the area.