Keith Orrell

AN INQUIRY into the scale of flooding in York should be launched, according to a senior councillor.

Liberal Democratic councillor Keith Orrell wants City of York's Council's scrutiny committee to investigate the effectiveness of the city's drainage systems and gully cleaning service.

Coun Orrell, who represents the Huntington and New Earswick ward, said: "During 2007, many residents across York have suffered from flooding in their streets, gardens and homes as a result of drains failing to cope with high rainfall.

"Many residents have spoken to me about the risk to their homes.

"It appears that right across the city there are problems of old and badly-maintained drains that just can't cope with high levels of flooding.

"Rains are likely to get worse as climate change affects our weather, which means something must be done to make the drainage systems effective.

"The inquiry should examine whether it would be appropriate to apply to Government for funding for infrastructure improvements or to deal with failures such as collapsed drains. I would expect the frequency of gully emptying would be examined to determine if this needs to be increased in some areas."

A City of York Council spokeswoman said: "We can confirm that Coun Orrell's request for a scrutiny review has been received and a report will be produced for consideration by the scrutiny management committee in October."

Yorkshire Water spokeswoman Karen O'Rourke said the company was happy to fully co-operate with any inquiry into the recent flooding.

She said: "The levels of rainfall experienced in June and July were unprecedented, with a month's rain falling in a matter of hours in many places throughout the county.

"In these exceptional circumstances, the sewerage network became inundated with floodwater.

"However, many of Yorkshire Water's pumping stations helped to move the flood water away as quickly as possible to help prevent certain areas from flooding.

"During the flood ing, Yorkshire Water worked alongside a number of agencies to help minimise the impact of the extreme weather conditions.

"Each one of these agencies has different areas of responsibility, in the same way that Yorkshire Water is responsible for maintaining the sewerage network, the Environment Agency takes care of the rivers and the council is responsible for looking after the drainage system. Over recent years Yorkshire Water has made significant investment into the sewerage network in York."

An inquiry into the flooding has been registered as a topic for the council's scrutiny committee.