Residents have slammed remarks made by a Perth & Kinross Council chief about the recent flooding devastation.
In a third council statement this week, executive director of communities Barbara Renton appeared to try to shift blame on to the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) regarding the response to the wild weather.
Properties were flooded while Perth’s Bell’s Sports Centre was also engulfed by water, with the events prompting a local authority probe.
Ms Renton said: “Information on water flow, flood levels and the timing of data sharing between partners is critical to the incident management.
“Perth & Kinross Council raised concerns about these processes during the incident, and these issues will be covered as part of the multi-agency review.”
‘An absolute joke’
But Derek Swan and his wife Sarah – left “devastated” when their Airbnb on Barossa Place was flooded after the council failed to close a North Inch floodgate in time – hit out at the comments.
The council blamed late information for leaving the gates open overnight and insisted the water level was too high by the time the decision to shut them was made.
Mr Swan said: “What an absolute joke of a statement.
“Unable to close one of the gates?
“There is a vast amount of footage on social media showing that the gate is not closed and water coming in and gushing before 12pm on Sunday.
“It could easily have been closed and I can’t believe she has put her name to this.
“All gates should have been shut days before, end of story.
“It was 5pm before we saw a sandbag delivered on Sunday.”
Earlier this week the council claimed a “rapid and near unprecedented rise” in the River Tay’s water level prevented it from closing the North Inch floodgates until Sunday – after rain had already battered the city.
A weather warning was in place two days before weather chaos erupted and other nearby floodgates had been closed earlier.
Ms Renton says the South Inch floodgates are, and were, closed on the basis of a yellow weather warning but that the decision to call on all other floodgates is based on river flow and tide data.
Weekend weather chaos
The council says it alerted to the rise in water just before 5.15am on Sunday morning.
This followed a consultation hours earlier with Sepa – shortly after midnight – with data at that stage indicating the river flow would remain the same while there would be a drop in the expected level of the tide.
Ms Renton added: “A risk-based decision was therefore taken to close the floodgates on Sunday morning, well before the next high tide in the early afternoon.
“Unexpectedly, water levels surged rapidly overnight and we were alerted by Sepa just before 5.15am.
“At that point all available officers were remobilised to close floodgates.
“The order in which the floodgates were closed was again based on an assessment of risk by experienced officers.
“Unfortunately because of the water level on the North Inch, officers were unable to close one of the floodgates.”
‘Litany of excuses’
Perthshire MSP Murdo Fraser claims he is yet to receive a response from the region’s SNP council leader Grant Laing to the 12 questions he has posed on the flooding controversy.
In the wake of Ms Renton’s comments, the Tory politician told The Courier: “This litany of excuses will be of no comfort to the householders and businesses which suffered catastrophic losses last weekend as a direct result of the council’s failure to close the North Inch floodgates on time.
“In particular, we have still no answer as to why, when there was an amber weather warning in place, the North Inch gates were not closed as a precaution.
“We have seen the horrendous damage to Bell’s Sports Centre which could well be closed for weeks, if not longer.”
He added: “The SNP political leadership on the council, which was posted missing over the weekend, now needs to step up and take a grip of this situation, or it will simply add to the growing perception that this is a rudderless administration which is failing the people of Perth and Kinross across a range of issues.”
Labour councillor Brian Leishman added: “Reviewing procedures should be a continuous process and I welcome the news that PKC are embarking on a review into the collective action and decision making of the Perth Flood Protection Scheme.
“This is a healthy course of action for any organisation to undergo.”
Sepa respond to council comment
Lin Bunten, Sepa’s acting chief executive, said: “As with any severe weather event, our teams at Sepa worked around the clock with public partners to prepare for significant flooding impacts over the weekend. We monitored rainfall and river levels 24/7, issuing and updating alerts and warnings as required. This event was forecast well in advance and was well responded to across the country.
“Sepa began warning public partners, including Perth and Kinross Council, of potential flooding on Wednesday 4th October in our daily Flood Guidance Statements. On Friday 6th October, a Flood Alert covering the region was issued, an Amber weather warning issued by the Met Office for heavy rain was in place, and a Major Incident was declared by Police Scotland. Through Saturday 7th October, these messages were updated and repeated with partners. In addition to this, on Sunday 8th October at 6.34am, a local Flood Warning for the specific area was issued, several hours before the flooding impacts occurred.
“A full debrief with partners will take place in due course, as is standard practice. In the meantime, Sepa remains fully committed to helping communities and responders plan and prepare for future flood events.”
Perth & Kinross Council chief Barbara Renton’s statement in full
“The Council recognises the severe weather over the weekend of October 7 and 8 had significant impact for communities, householders and businesses.
“We are grateful for the work undertaken by officers and by community groups across the Council area, and residents who took action themselves, which helped mitigate the consequences of the weather in many parts of Perth and Kinross.
“Council officers worked alongside the emergency services over the weekend to support residents and property owners, and since Monday, have been supporting the recovery across the area.
“In addition, given that a further yellow warning was still in place, the Council was also preparing for the potential impact of further widespread rainfall and disruption across Perth and Kinross.
“Perth has a Flood Protection Scheme with protocols in place for closing floodgates primarily based upon data in relation to river flow and tides. This has been successfully used since the scheme opened in 2001.
“We start considering the closure of gates when hydrology data, provided by Sepa, indicates this is necessary.
“The exception is the South Inch floodgates which are closed on the basis of a yellow warning because of the particular risk of surface flooding.
“The closure of all other floodgates is based on river flow and tide data. We accept that this distinction was not made clear in social media communications and apologise for any confusion this caused.
“In relation to the river flow data and high tide times we were in dialogue with Sepa throughout the course of the weekend. On Saturday evening, 90 minutes before high tide, the Council were advised of an increase in waterflow.
“The timing meant that resources could not be mobilised to safely close the floodgates ahead of high tide that evening (potentially the point of greatest risk). A visual inspection of levels was carried out however which confirmed that there was no risk of flooding from the river at that time.
“Further consultation with Sepa took place at 00.30 on Sunday. At that point the data modelling indicated that the river flow on Sunday would remain the same as was, but with a drop in the expected level of the high tide. A risk-based decision was therefore taken to close the floodgates on Sunday morning, well before the next high tide in the early afternoon.
“Unexpectedly, water levels surged rapidly overnight and we were alerted by Sepa just before 5.15am. At that point all available officers were remobilised to close floodgates. The order in which the floodgates were closed was again based on an assessment of risk by experienced officers. Unfortunately because of the water level on the North Inch, officers were unable to close one of the floodgates.
“As always, the Council’s Flooding Team will assess the impact of the weather event across all affected communities, particularly Perth City and Aberfeldy.
“Information on water flow, flood levels and the timing of data sharing between partners is critical to the incident management. Perth & Kinross Council raised concerns about these processes during the incident, and these issues will be covered as part of the multi-agency review.
“In addition, following a direction from the Administration, we are reviewing our collective actions and decision-making in relation to the Perth Flood Protection Scheme.
“This will also include examination of external factors which had a potential impact, not least, the reason for the unexpected surge in waterflow notified to us in the early hours of Sunday. Further potential areas include drainage issues, surface flooding, ground saturation levels and rainfall.
“We understand the frustration of those who suffered flooding. I would ask residents and business owners to bear with us and allow us to focus our resources on the recovery and review processes.”
Conversation