Scottish Water has admitted its pumping station next to the North Inch was not working properly when Storm Gerrit heaped more flood misery on Perth residents.
Basement properties in Rose Terrace were flooded as the drains struggled under the force of last Wednesday’s heavy rain.
It comes less than three months after the street was swamped when the River Tay burst its banks.
Locals blame Perth and Kinross Council for leaving the North Inch flood gates open in October.
This time, they say it’s Scottish Water which has let them down.
One homeowner told The Courier theirs must be “the unluckiest street in Perth”.
Scottish Water has apologised for the fault and said it will act to prevent a repeat.
But Rose Terrace locals say they are losing confidence in the authorities’ ability to protect them from flooding.
Blain Ross said: “We can accept that mistakes happen.
“But for this to happen three months after the floodgates is pretty hard to take.
“These events are going to become more common, not less,” he added.
“They are going to have to get better at dealing with them.”
Fault discovered as Storm Gerrit battered Perth
The businessman’s rented flats on Rose Terrace were among those hit during the October flooding.
He was on the street as the water levels rose rapidly again on December 27.
His property escaped the brunt this time.
But he said it was clear to everyone that the pumping station was not doing its job.
He said Scottish Water sent two vans in the afternoon and one worker managed to find a key to the station and establish there was a problem.
But by the time help arrived it was too late to prevent further flooding to basements on Rose Terrace.
Many were still lying empty following the previous flood in October.
Mr Ross said: “The simple truth is the floodgate was the cause of the first event and this time it was the water pumping station.
“It’s there for a reason. It’s a pretty critical piece of infrastructure.
“You have to ask – is this the unluckiest street in Perth?”
Scottish Water carried out repairs
Scottish Water investigated after residents contacted The Courier with their concerns.
A spokesperson confirmed crews responded to reports of flooding in Rose Terrace on December 27.
“Our operatives noticed that the waste water pumping station which serves residents of Rose Terrace was not operating to its full capacity and scheduled for engineers to attend the site to carry out the necessary repairs,” they added.
“These have since been completed and we continue to monitor the area closely.
“With the pumping station now fully operational it will help to reduce the risk of flooding during lesser rainfall events.”
The spokesperson said Scottish Water would also carry out CCTV surveys of its network at Rose Terrace, Barossa Place, and Atholl Street early this year to look for any more faults which could be a factor in flooding.
“We’d like to apologise to customers affected by the recent flooding and thank them for their patience while we continue with our investigation,” they added.
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