Francesca Glyn-Jones - 2-Aug-2007
- Around 90 people attended a drop-in session
organised by the Environment Agency for residents
affected by the recent flooding in Pickering.
The drop-in was held yesterday, and the aim
was to give residents an opportunity to learn
more about the flooding, and for officers
to gather information about the affected areas.
Residents’ questions included concerns about
the lack of flood defences in Pickering, and
Sinnington.
Area flood risk manager Thomasin Turner said:
“It was a busy day and it gave us the opportunity
to answer many people’s concerns. We collected
dozens of photographs of the flooding and
many people filled out our questionnaires.
“This information will be used to build up
a better picture of the flooding in specific
locations, and although we cannot stop the
problem altogether, we are continually adding
to our understanding of flooding in Pickering
which helps us to make improvements for people
in the town.”
Staff also met with protesters who were calling
for a flood defence scheme and explained that
demand for schemes across the country exceeded
Environment Agency resources.
Thomasin said: “There is a huge demand to
build flood defences across the country. In
Yorkshire and Humber there are almost 550,000
people living in areas at risk of flooding,
and although our funding has increased in
recent years the demand is still greater than
the money available to build schemes. This
means we have to prioritise which defences
get built first, and unfortunately there are
still other places with a higher priority
score than Pickering."
Staff are looking at other ways to help reduce
the impact of flooding on the community, including
plans to set up a flood warden scheme in the
town.
The scheme would be run by the community,
and supported by the Environment Agency which
would liaise with volunteer wardens during
a flood and help them to warn residents.
Similar schemes have been set up elsewhere
in Yorkshire, and staff have also been talking
to residents from Sinnington, near Pickering
who have also shown interest in a similar
initiative.
On June 25, a total of 81 millimetres of
rain fell on Pickering Beck. The average rainfall
in June for Yorkshire and the Humber is 60-70
millimetres.
+ More
Environment Agency gives flooded rivers a
health check
Francesca Glyn-Jones - 2-Aug-2007 - Environment
Agency officers say that main rivers around
South Yorkshire have survived the worst of
last month’s polluted floodwater.
Sheffield received the most rain it had ever
had in one day, causing widespread flooding
across the county which was contaminated with
sewage and other substances.
Once the floods receded, much of the floodwater
drained back into the rivers and since then
a
four-strong team from the Environment Agency
has been taking daily water samples from 12
sites on the Don, Rother and Dearne to monitor
the pollution.
Now, the team is scaling back its operation
because tests show that although ammonia levels
are still quite high, the region’s rivers
are returning to normal.
Environment Agency team leader for the area
Jo Briddock said: “Although ammonia is still
quite high due to sewage in the water, the
oxygen levels have held up which has helped
the river’s wildlife to survive.
“This is good news for South Yorkshire. A
lot of work has been done to help the rivers
recover from the region’s industrial heritage,
and it looks as if the recent pollution hasn’t
been a major setback.”
Jo said that the cool weather had helped
to keep water temperatures low in the rivers,
and oxygen levels up. High oxygen levels are
good for fish and help them survive when pollution
is present.
All 12 sample sites are in urban areas and
include the River Don near Magna, the Rother
near Tesco in Rotherham and the Don at North
Bridge in Doncaster.
From this week staff will reduce their daily
tests to three times a week for all but two
sample sites which are close to Blackburn
Meadows sewage treatment works in Sheffield.
Blackburn Meadows handles all Sheffield's
sewage and was overwhelmed by the floods in
June which meant that untreated sewage entered
the Don.
Yorkshire Water worked round the clock to
restore treatment at the facility, and the
Environment Agency will continue monitoring
the water quality nearby more regularly as
a precaution.
Staff have also been helped in their task
by having four monitors on the Don which measure
water quality 24 hours a day.
The information is fed through to the team
at Templeborough who can check the water quality
at any time.
The equipment was installed as part of a
project to look at the Don’s recovery following
a pollution incident last July which killed
fish between Rotherham and Doncaster. However
it has been invaluable in recent weeks to
assess water quality issues in the aftermath
of the floods.
Under normal circumstances, the Environment
Agency samples the river quality in the area
every month.
