29.3.2000

Local MP secures over £140 000 in investment on flooding prevention measures

Further to the meetings held between Thames Water, Grove ward Councillors and Edward Davey MP last year, a final report on the flooding problems locally has now been published.

The report highlights the previous neglect by both the Council and Thames Water of the Borough's surface water drainage system.

However, after the problem was raised with them by Edward Davey the company employed a team of six full time staff for over four months to investigate the problems. Thames have committed themselves to make good any faults wherever possible and to assess the further capital investment required.

A sign of the significant of their study, apart from the £140, 000 costs of repairs and investigations, is the fact that they have used the recommendations to construct a region-wide policy document for dealing with instances of area flooding.

Commenting on their efforts Edward Davey said, "I am delighted that the company was eventually so thorough in reacting to mine and local residents concerns. "

"Since October they have been quietly investigating the problems we highlighted with them, carrying out any remedial works where possible and making recommendations for long term asset renewals when not."

"Only when they handed me this thick, in-depth report at the end of their investigations did I realize how much they have done. However, the report also shows how much there is still to do. The £140, 000 they have already spent is just the beginning and I hope to see the longer term improvements carried out as soon as possible."

A letter to flooding victims from Edward Davey outlining the investigation techniques used by the team, also their findings, the remedial work carried out by them and their final recommendations.

Re: Flooding Update Further to my last letter, I have now received a full report from Thames water which outlines the work they have carried out since our initial flooding concerns were raised with them.

I believe they should have also been in touch by now; however I wanted to take this opportunity to provide you with a more detailed explanation of what they have been doing to tackle this problem, and I enclose an extract from their report where it deals with your area.

However, can I first thank you for your patience on this issue, which has taken (and will continue to take) some considerable time to resolve finally for everyone concerned. If you did send back the "Feedback" form I sent you in my last letter, many thanks again.

It is clear that, despite the work undertaken described below, there is still much to do, and I am passing on your feedback to Thames Water.

Study Undertaken
Thames Water have now undertaken detailed feasibility studies into all the flooding incidents reported to them. These investigations involved;
1) Making an assessment of the vulnerability to flooding of problem areas;
2) Talking to affected customers and obtain eye-witness reports whenever possible;
3) Checking the local sewer system;
4) Checking highway & land drainage systems;
5) Carrying out CCTV surveys of sewers where appropriate to identify possible obstructions.

Where it was not obvious what had caused the problem a modeling exercise was then undertaken.

Findings
It was discovered that the most common operational problems which led to flooding were silt, roots, collapses, concrete in sewers and lack of highway and land drainage maintenance.

In total, 10 collapses were found during their investigations and programmed for immediate repair. Many of the problems uncovered with the surface water system have now been repaired.

On the whole, Thames Water found that the surface water system not regularly maintained due to intermittent use.

Works Undertaken
As I previously mentioned, one consequence of our efforts is that there is now better contact between Kingston Council and Thames Water which allows them to take a more coordinated approach to tackling this issue.

From the results of the study, they have also produced a list of hot spots i.e. surface water sewers which if not cleaned can lead to flooding of properties.

In order to avoid repeated flooding at these hot spots, sewers in the relevant areas will be cleaned in the spring of each year to give added protection against most storms but specifically the harsher summer storms.

The flooding team have strongly suggested an improvement to their forecasting system which would provide them with an earlier warning of when flooding was likely to occur. This is also part of their plans to develop a future response to area wide flooding which includes a deployment plan for flood defence measures and a thorough clean up operation.

The study that we secured has been so in-depth that it has enabled Thames Water to produce a region wide framework for the management of future flooding events.

This is no surprise given that the company have spent £60, 000 on this study excluding staff costs (the team included 6 full time members of staff and input from five other operational units.)

Furthermore, £80, 000 was also spent on essential sewer cleaning during these investigations. An assessment of further operational/capital measures required to minimize future flooding in the area is still being undertaken.

I will ensure that your feedback forms, and any further comments you may wish to send me, are taken into account by Thames water in this.

Finally, it is clear to me that, while the storms and floods our area experienced last year were exceptional, the response from Thames and the Council was not of the standard we could have expected.

There can be no guarantee that future floods will not occur, but I am optimistic that as a result of the work we have all done since last year, the service you will receive will be vastly improved, if we experience similar events again.

Yours sincerely
Edward Davey MP