Friday 22 August 2008

Flooding issues ...


Since getting back from the West End local community planning partnership meeting at Balgay Church Hall last night, I have been inundated with calls and e-mails from constituents on flooding concerns - Roseangle, Riverside Drive, Richmond Terrace and Osborne Place in particular.


Apart from the issues in the West End, as City Council Planning & Transport Convener, I spoke with the "Evening Telegraph" and Radio Tay on the general flooding issue and the situation in the City Centre. The City Council issued a news release on the matter this afternoon and I reproduce this below :


CITY CENTRE FLOODING

A city council spokesman said: "The flooding experienced in Dundee city centre yesterday was the result of an extreme rainstorm coinciding with a high tide. This meant that the existing old Victorian sewer system was totally unable to cope with the sheer volume of rainwater caused by this flash flood.

"The worst affected part of the city was in the Dock Street area, but many other locations around Dundee experienced unusual flooding events due to the drains and sewers backing up.

"Responsibility for the sewage system in Dundee lies with Scottish Water, but Dundee City Council is very concerned about the impact of these ever more frequent flooding incidents on property and the road network.

"Dundee City Council is planning to install a completely new sewer system in Dundee Waterfront as part of the area's redevelopment. The project is seeking to design this system in a way which has enough capacity to resolve the flooding problems being experienced in Dock Street.

"In order to achieve this, the Council needs the cooperation of Scottish Water to design and implement a drainage system in the Waterfront which not only provides for its redevelopment, but also assists the flood affected areas in the city centre to the north. We have had dialogue with Scottish Water on this matter, but we need greater commitment from them if we are to grasp this opportunity to tackle the flooding problems in the centre of Dundee."