08:00 - 20 March 2008
A New review of last summer's floods in Hull says the city
must have better in-built levels of flood protection.
Water industry regulator Ofwat also concludes that Yorkshire Water's £200m
Humbercare sewage transfer system in Hull "did not deliver the level of
service expected".
The review says the industry's general standard for protection against a
one-in-30-year storm event should be upgraded for Hull.
Although it largely attributes the events of last June to
heavy rainfall and saturated ground conditions, the regulator also says
there are still unanswered questions over why the city's public drainage
system was overwhelmed so easily.
In a statement, Ofwat said: "If the public drainage system in Hull becomes
overwhelmed as a result of a severe storm, as it did last June, there are
few natural watercourses for the storm flooding to drain into.
"Thus, almost the entire storm drainage of the city is discharged through
Yorkshire Water's piped drainage system and terminal pumping stations.
"In 2001 Yorkshire Water changed the arrangements for the pumping stations
when it commissioned the Humbercare scheme."
Opened in 2001, Humbercare saw all storm water pumping being switched to a
new plant at Saltend with the former west Hull pumping station being
mothballed.
It was subsequently brought back into action after concerns were raised over
Humbercare's operation following a number of flooding incidents.
In its own report on the floods, the city council-commissioned Independent
Review Body (IRB) said Humbercare had actually reduced the level of flood
protection for Hull.
The Ofwat review broadly agrees with this.
The report states: "The original Humbercare project commissioned in 2001 did
not deliver the level of service expected.
"However, it is clear Yorkshire Water before 2007, took steps to improve
this in the light of evidence that emerged after the project was
commissioned."
Along with its recently announced £16m investment programme in Hull, the
regulator said the water company had also agreed to "fully investigate,
model and explain" the performance of its drainage systems last June and
demonstrate how the improvements will make a difference.
It said: "Once these steps have been completed we will review with Yorkshire
Water whether any further action is necessary."