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3d ago

Beavers End Routine Flooding Near London Tube Station

This demonstrates that beaver-built wetlands can reduce urban flood risk.

Aerial drone view of a beaver dam and wetland at Kebler Pass, Colorado.
Beavers' teeth are stregthened by iron, which gives their teeth an orange color.
A beaver at Paradise Fields in Ealing, West London.
Beavers swimming at Paradise Fields, West London.

Overview

  • The Ealing Beaver Project says the colony at Paradise Fields has stopped the routine flooding that used to affect nearby streets and Greenford tube station, a change reported by project staff on Thursday.
  • Conservationists moved a family of wild Eurasian beavers to the 24-acre site in 2023 and the population has grown to about eight adults plus a recent spring litter.
  • The animals have built dams, ponds and small canals that hold water on-site and slow runoff, creating new wetland habitat that project staff link directly to the reduced downstream flooding.
  • The site is publicly accessible, runs paid guided 'beaver safaris' and has boosted local biodiversity and community engagement while also generating revenue for the project.
  • Officials and scientists welcome the results but caution licensed reintroductions must be carefully sited and managed to avoid burrow damage, flooded farmland or threats to infrastructure, and national rules now require licensing and impact checks for releases in England.