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V27-1456 : QUESTIONS

Under Standing Order 1.6, Councillor Shepherd submitted the following question:

"Can the Chairman tell us what caused the flooding in London Road South and St. John's Road, several times last year (apart from the rain)?

What action is being taken to prevent it happening again?
What action is being taken to prevent flooding in the Aldwyck Way area of South Lowestoft?"

The Chairman of the Council gave the following reply:

"Responsibility for the operation and maintenance of the public sewerage system including surface water sewers, lies with Anglian Water Services.

Anglian Water were investigating an operational problem with the surface water sewers in St. John's Road (which also affected the drainage of part of London Road South) in advance of the extremely heavy rainfall which hit Lowestoft on 9 August 1999. This rainfall caused internal flooding to a number of properties in the St. John's Road/London Road South area, Aldwyck Way area, the central part of north Lowestoft (including Station Square, Tonning Street, Bevan Street), Norwich Road and at other locations in Lowestoft.

The Chief Executive and Director of Community Services met with senior officers from Anglian Water on 12 August 1999 to discuss Anglian Water's response. It was agreed that a series of meetings was required in order to ensure continued feedback of information resulting from the AW investigation into the causes of the floodings. Meetings held in January and March with the Leader and Chief Executive have confirmed that a major blockage caused by actions of a third party had led to the St. John's Road/London Road South flooding; the major works required to remove this obstruction were completed in 1999.

Major maintenance works to Kirkley Stream have improved the operation of this surface water channel adjacent to the Aldwyck Way area, thus reducing the risk of flooding here. Waveney has requested AW to ensure adequate future maintenance of the existing infrastructure.

AW have been developing a computer model of the drainage systems in Lowestoft, which has enabled them to identify weaknesses in their systems, and to identify potential solutions to reduce risks of flooding to acceptable levels."


Volume 27 Minute 1456

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