Beavers Hailed as Heroes After Preventing Tube Station Flooding
London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan has praised a family of five beavers for their role in ending persistent flooding at Greenford Underground station in West London. The station, located on the Central line in Zone 4, had long suffered from floodwater during heavy rain due to an overflowing nearby creek. In 2023, environmentalists launched the Ealing Beaver Project, reintroducing Eurasian beavers to Paradise Fields in North Greenford.
The project, a collaboration between Ealing Wildlife Group, Ealing Council, Citizen Zoo, and Friends of Horsenden Hill, received a license from Natural England. Within weeks, the beavers built a dam, creating a pond and subsequently six more ponds in their first year. This diverted water from the main creek, significantly reducing flow and preventing flooding at the station.
Mayor Khan shared the success on Instagram, stating: “Beavers are nature’s engineers – we just didn’t realise how efficient they could be. In 2023, beavers were reintroduced to West London. These incredible creatures have already stepped up to stop flooding at a Tube station and restore local habitats. Nature is healing (and civil engineering).”
The post garnered positive responses, with one commenter suggesting a similar project at South Norwood Country Park. The beavers’ rapid impact highlights the potential of nature-based solutions to urban infrastructure challenges.
