Pumping station alarm to be fitted (York Liberal Democrats)

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

Pumping station alarm to be fitted

November 5, 2008 12:00 AM

Yorkshire Water have promised to fit an automatic alarm system at the Foxwood Lane pumping station to prevent a repeat of the flooding which occurred in August.

On August 17th one of the 3 pumps at the station burnt out. A system, which should have automatically switched to a second pump, failed and residents on part of Foxwood Lane awoke to find water lapping into their homes. It was 8 hours before the flood levels were reduced.

Yorkshire Water officials told a meeting held at the Foxwood Community Centre on 16th October that a new remote alarm system would alert engineers before any reduction in pumping capacity was noticeable. The pumping station deals only with surface (top) water drainage so problems with sewage back ups require a different solution.

Three properties near the shops on Foxwood Lane have suffered from sewage backing up. Council engineers have now fitted non return valves to prevent this happening again but blockages on the main sewer - blamed by Yorkshire Water on fat build ups - would mean that toilets and washing facilities would be unusable in these homes. Yorkshire Water have promised to check and clean the sewer, and an associated siphon system, regularly and to investigate whether illegal substances were being deposited into the sewage system.

Residents at the meeting also raised concerns that the water table in the area seemed to be higher now than in the past.

Westfield Councillor Steve Galloway said, "I was very pleased to hear from Yorkshire Water that they are going to provide solutions to the flooding problems we experienced this summer in Foxwood. The drastic level of flooding was caused by a simple system failure and cannot be allowed to happen again."

"It will also be a great relief to those who live near to Foxwood Lane shops, that Yorkshire Water are again listening to residents' concerns and dealing with the sewage problems there. The meeting was generally very productive, and I hope that its outcomes will prevent further problems for Foxwood residents in the future."