A Broughty Ferry councillor has welcomed action to address persistent flooding problems on one of the suburb’s busy roads, but claims more has to be done to fully resolve the issue.
Ferry ward councillor Derek Scott said he is cautiously optimistic that work to ease flooding at the junction of Cedar Road and Forthill Road will alleviate the situation temporarily but he will continue to work towards a more permanent solution.
Following bouts of heavy rainfall the area has often become blocked, with many motorists and pedestrians struggling to get past the large overflow of water on the road.
Mr Scott contacted the council and Scottish Water to find a solution after being told the sewer capacity in the area is unable to deal with surface water run-off during heavy rainfall, causing an overflow.
Scottish Water then carried out a survey of the combined sewer network in the area and found it to be in a reasonable condition. However, it also revealed root ingress both upstream and downstream of the manhole at the junction.
Contractors from Scottish Water removed the roots and the section of sewer will now be regularly cleaned to ensure there is no build-up of silt or debris. The company will also investigate relining parts of the sewer to prevent further root ingress.
Mr Scott said, “I welcome the actions by Scottish Water to clear the roots as they were was causing a bit of blockage. However, they did the same thing a number of years ago and the problem just came back.
“What it really needs is an engineering solution so it can take the volume of storm water. What we need is to find a permanent solution, not just a temporary one.”
In a letter to Mr Scott, Scottish Water pledged to monitor the flooding situation, but revealed there were no funds currently available to fully resolve the issue in Broughty Ferry.
Scottish Water regional community manager Anne Marie Dewar wrote, “We have now moved into a new investment period and over the next five years ministers have continued their commitment to dealing with internal sewer flooding.
“Funding to resolve internal flooding has been allocated strictly on this basis and I am afraid that there are no funds available to resolve situations like the one at Cedar Road and Forthill Road.
“We will continue to monitor this situation, attending as necessary to any further flooding events and ensuring our records are up to date to allow the correct prioritisation of this case when funding does become available.”
Although the work carried out has not yet solved the issue, Mr Scott praised Scottish Water for taking local concerns on board and will continue to contact them to address any future issues.