Agenda item

To consider a report by the Flood Risk Manager (copy enclosed) which seeks the Committee to consider whether the Council requires, in view of the lessons learnt from the July 2017 flooding, to implement or revise working practices in order to mitigate against future risk of flooding in the county

11.45am – 12.15pm

The Lead Member for Highways, Planning and Sustainable Travel introduced the Flood Risk Manager’s report (previously circulated) which presented the Committee with the findings of the investigation into the 19^th July 2017 floods in the north of the county.  Attached to the report was a copy of the final report produced in accordance with Section 19 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010.  Under the Act’s provisions the Council was required to investigate, prepare and publish this report in response to incidents of flooding within its geographical boundaries.

The Flood Risk Manager outlined the Council’s duties with respect of investigating the floods that occurred and advised that the amount of rainfall that fell in the northern part of the county on 19^th July 2017 equated to a 1 in 50 year event.  He proceeded to outline the process undertaken to investigate the cause and extent of the floods and advised that, due to the large geographical area affected, it had taken some considerable time to collate and analyse all the evidence and information gathered.  The investigation had concluded that the cause of the flood was a pluvial event due to an excessive volume of surface water being unable to enter the drainage and sewage systems at a fast enough rate to enable it to drain away.  The volume of rainfall that day exceeded the amount of capacity within the local drainage and sewage systems to continually flow.  This lack of capacity was further exacerbated by blockages in pipes and problems encountered in pumping stations, both of which were the responsibility of Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water (DCWW).  The Flood Risk Manager emphasised that both  DCWW and Natural Resources Wales (NRW) had worked closely with the Council when undertaking the flood investigation work and the Lead Member informed the Committee that the officer had forged a good working relationship with both organisations, both of whom had accepted that all partners had responsibilities in relation to flood risk management in this area.

Members from the Rhyl area detailed a number of long-standing flood related problems in the Rhyl area including the camber of the road in Ffordd Derwen, water flowing off Ysgol Dewi Sant’s playing fields, fly tipping on Network Rail owned land and problems with drains and soakaways in its ownership, problems on Ffordd Elan and the new Rhyl Rugby Club pitch.  The Head of Highways and Environmental Services and the Flood Risk Manager advised members that the cause of a number of these problems were very complex.  Due to the complexities involved the Council had been able to secure funding from the WG to undertake an in-depth study into the type of work that would be required to improve the situation.  Nevertheless, no one could give an absolute guarantee that such an event would never happen again, all that could be done was to reduce the risks of flooding in future.  The results of the drainage study at Ffordd Derwen, Rhyl was expected in September 2018.  Similarly the results of the collaborative work with DCWW and NRW to investigate whether improvements could be made to the management of the Rhyl Cut and Prestatyn Gutter as well as adjacent drains and sewers was expected around the same time.

Responding to members’ questions officers advised that:

·         DCWW was undertaking a study in the Bro Berllan area of Rhuddlan with a view to understanding the extent of the flood and drainage problems there;

·         Council-owned gulleys were emptied on at least an annual basis, with those known to cause problems being emptied on a more regular basis.  If members became aware of gulleys that could potentially increase the risk of flooding or which required emptying they should contact the Customer Service Centre to report the matter;

·         the Council took incidents of fly-tipping very seriously and made every effort to work with the perpetrators to educate them on the problems caused by them and the associated costs;

·         whilst proposals for the provision of separate sewers for sewage and surface water were put forward when water companies were privatised and DCWW had been developing plans to introduce these for some time, Council officers were not aware that any such schemes had been implemented in Denbighshire to date;

·         with regards to the maintenance of ditches and river banks whilst NRW had powers to carry out this type of work it was not a duty of the NRW to undertake the work, usually it was deemed to be the responsibility of the riparian landowner to undertake the maintenance work; and

·         staff from the Highways and Environmental Services worked closely with Education Service staff to mitigate the risks to schools and pupils from flooding and other adverse weather events.

The Committee at the conclusion of the discussion:

Resolved: - subject to the above observations to

(i)           request that officers to report on the findings of the Welsh Government grant funded drainage study at Ffordd Derwen, Rhyl to the Rhyl Member Area Group following the publication of the report in the autumn of 2018;

(ii)          request officers to attend meetings of the Elwy, Prestatyn and Rhyl Member Area Groups to discuss local flood risk related matters; and

(iii)         request that the findings of the study undertaken in conjunction with Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water and Natural Resources Wales into whether improvements could be made to the management of the Rhyl Cut and Prestatyn Gutter, adjacent drains and sewers, be presented to the Committee when completed, and that representatives from both organisations be invited to the meeting to discuss the findings and to outline each organisation’s responsibilities in relation to flood management and flood mitigation.