Welsh Water and Caerphilly Council join forces to reduce flooding
Llys Cambria near Caerphilly is an area of community housing prone to internal sewage flooding, and is served by public sewers that drain both sewage and rainwater runoff from roofs and paved areas. During investigations, it was evident that rainwater run-off from the highway, connected via road gullies, and this was a major factor affecting the flow during wet periods.
The high density of housing on the estate meant that installing larger pipes would prove difficult, costly, and disruptive to the community.
The scale of the work to lay a new sewer to take the flows away from the affected properties would have meant the scheme was not economically viable, and a more innovative solution was sought.
Caerphilly Council were consulted by Welsh Water to consider an alternative solution to the flooding, and agreed to allow Welsh Water to redirect a number of road gullies draining rainwater off the highway, to a nearby culverted watercourse instead.
This scheme was completed in the summer of 2009 and has meant that the properties in Llys Cambria are protected from internal flooding during heavy storms. The solution means that the rainwater is returned to the natural environment and not pumped and treated at Welsh Water’s energy-intensive sewage treatment works and will have reduced the Welsh Water’s carbon footprint. |
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Floods Bill gets hearing
The Floods and Water Management Bill which applies in England and Wales will provide a more comprehensive and sustainable management of flood risk for people, homes and businesses. This followed Sir Michael Pitt’s review of the handling of the devastating floods that occurred in the summer of 2007, which caused £3bn pounds worth of damage.
Due to the concerns over a lack of parliamentary time, a slimmed down version of the original Bill was introduced in the 2009 Queen’s Speech programme and had its first and second readings in the House of Commons during November and December 2009.
Some main elements are:
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Responsibilities for managing all flood risks will be clearly defined with local authorities taking a leading role |
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Measures will be introduced to increase the uptake of sustainable drainage systems (SUDS) to reduce damage from flooding, improve water quality, protect and improve the environment, protect health and safety and ensure the stability and durability of the sewer network |
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In line with the Environment Agency’s duties for sustainability, all bodies managing flood risk will be required to take environmental considerations into account in addition to social and economic considerations. |
The Floods and Water Management Bill will continue to pass through the House of Commons and then the House of Lords when, upon consideration of any amendments, it will become Law. Look out for updates on the Bill in future issues of SWEARWords. |
On 26th November 2009, Ofwat (the economic regulator of water and sewerage companies in England and Wales) published its final decisions on the investment that water and sewerage companies can spend, outlined in their business plans between 2010 – 2015.