Liberal Democrats invest £200,000 to help relieve flooding in York (York Liberal Democrats)

York Liberal Democrats <info@yorklibdems.org.uk>

Liberal Democrats invest £200,000 to help relieve flooding in York

May 24, 2008 2:48 PM

As part of the Liberal Democrat's 2008/9 budget, an additional £200, 000 is being invested to tackle some of the most persistent and troublesome drainage problems in the city.

Some of this money will be spent on surveying drainage systems and recording data, but the vast majority - at least £150, 000 - will be spent on repairing and rectifying drainage problems in the most critical locations. Some of the surveying may lead to large scale renewals and new systems.

The money will specifically be targeted to rectify drainage problems where flooding is affecting, or likely to affect: property, including elderly person's homes, and footpaths; and where flooding is most frequent or extensive. Councillors have told York Council about flooding problems in their area and the list of problems will now be prioritised according to this criteria.

Work to rectify the flooding problems will include various forms of repair work, such as cleaning out drainage systems, replacing surface paving, repairing damaged drains, renewing drainage filter material, and in some cases, installing new drains.

Cllr Steve Galloway, Executive Member for City Strategy, said:

"York is vulnerable to flooding because of its geography. Although most publicity has been directed towards the dangers of rivers over topping defences, even relatively high lying areas can be subject to inconvenience if more local drainage systems are not regularly maintained and upgraded to meet increased demands.

While no drainage system will be able to cope with the flash flooding which resulted from the unprecedented downpour during June last year, I believe that we can do more to reduce inconvenience to residents during normal wet weather conditions.

This programme will be the first, systematic, modernisation of drainage systems ever seen in the City.

All Councillors have been consulted on the priorities for their ward".

The Strategy panel is expected to approve the survey and repair works strategy at its meeting on 3rd June, and work will be carried over the next year. It is expected though that a rolling programme of improvements will be necessary which could last for several decades. END

Notes to editors

The £200, 000 is in addition to the £139, 700 being made available in the capital drainage programme for 2008/9.

The majority of the growth bid, at least £150k, will be used to fund the works programme targeted at the most critical and the most persistent locations of flooding and standing water, as identified in the survey initiative.

The works undertaken will take various forms and will not be confined to simply repairing drainage systems. Standing water problems, for example in the pedestrian zone of the city centre, can often be solved by relaying the surface paving, although in some other locations blocked gullies and damaged drains will be the cause of localised flooding. In other, perhaps more rural locations, the solution to drainage problems may include the cleaning out of manholes and catchpits, as well as the renewal of filter media in soakaway drainage systems. There will be instances where new gullies and drains need to be installed.

The most common forms of repair work will be:

• Cleaning out drainage systems

• Renewal of drainage filter material

• Replace existing damaged of ineffective gullies

• Install additional new gullies

• Repair drains

• Install new sections of drain

• Re-shape surfacing top remove standing water

It may be that a drain is the responsibility of Yorkshire Water and some negotiation may be required to enable repair works to progress.