COMMUNITIES TO TACKLE FLOOD THREAT
08:00 - 04 October 2007
Towns and villages across the East Riding are tackling the
threat of future flooding at grass roots level.
Communities are stocking up on water pumps and clearing drains and watercourses
themselves after East Riding Council made £280,000 available to flood-hit areas.
Seventeen parish councils have applied for funding to help protect themselves.
It has seen some enlist the help of farmers to dig out
overgrown ditches, while others have bought water pumps to use in homes should
they be flooded again.
Hornsea Parish Council has bought a petrol-powered water pump to keep locally.
Dozens of streets in the town were closed and many houses were cut off when the
area flooded.
Hull Road was submerged under several feet of water and properties were damaged
as the flood waters took hold.
The town's new pump is capable of moving about 300 litres a minute.
Gary Oxendale, the council's maintenance supervisor said: "The money made
available has proved to be particularly useful.
"We have already purchased a petrol pump that can be used in emergencies to
relieve areas if water begins to pool.
"On the day of the floods we were out trying to help residents by pumping water
away from houses, however, the pump we had was more than 15 years old and not
particularly reliable.
"We figured it would be suitable to purchase a new, more reliable piece of kit
in case of future emergencies."
The Parish Council Flood Relief Scheme arose after East Riding Council made
money available to any area affected by the devastating floods of June 25.
So far, a total of £56,000 has been allocated to local communities.
Although some of the councils are to use the money for the clearing of ditches
and to pay for equipment to assist in case of a future disaster, several are
paying professional engineers to carry out flood survey reports.
Beeford Parish Council applied for £2,500 for a such a survey to be conducted in
the village, near Driffield.
Beeford suffered badly after the floods, with the primary school sustaining
thousands of pounds of damage.
Rosalind Turner, clerk to the parish council, said: "We employed an independent
drainage surveyor to come and look at the specific problems in Beeford.
"He is in contact with the Internal Drainage Board and the Environment Agency,
but is not answerable to them.
"The money has allowed us to send questionnaires out to residents who were
flooded asking for their suggestions on what needs to be done."
The village's flood report is expected at the end of this month.
Ms Turner said: "The ground is already waterlogged and we are heading into the
wet weather season. People need to be able to sleep safe in their beds without
worrying they may be flooded again."Any council wishing to apply should e-mail a
href="mailto:barry.adams@eastriding.gov.uk" class="lblue" barry.adams@eastriding.gov.uk
/a or call (01482) 887700. There is no deadline for applications for further
funding and any council that has already received money can reapply to push the
total up to £5,000.