The Exwick flood relief channel was the result of a scheme to provide flood defences to low lying areas in Exeter next to the River Exe. Inevitable floods were becoming more frequent in these areas. This was the outcome to a city expanding and growing with additional housing and other buildings taking up more and more of the marsh lands.
Thousands of properties flooded
The previous flood, prior to the schemes implementation in 1960, was on such an immense scale that it resulted in thousands of properties, including houses, shops and businesses being flooded in Exwick, St Thomas, St Davids and other areas mainly on the western side of the River Exe .
On one day, the 27th October that would be later known as ‘Black Thursday’, Station Road in Exwick saw flooded water to approximately 2 metres in depth.
The flood relief channel was subsequently built between 1965 and 1977 to prevent further catastrophic flooding events. It was created to divert the course of excess water from the River Exe and help alleviate the flood risk during times of excessive periods of heavy rainfall and bad weather .
Doing its job!
The video below shows water pouring in to the start of the flood relief channel. An automatic gate operates according to the water levels that closes off water from the River Exe and diverts into this area also referred to as The Exwick spillway. It then runs down within this concrete built channel for just under a mile towards the Millers Crossing footbridge.
Battling the waters created by storm Chandra 27/01/2026
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Does anybody remember the village flooding before the completion of this flood prevention scheme?
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