Memorandum submitted by Malcolm G Coward
(FL 45)
RUFFORTH, NORTH YORKSHIRE, FLOOD DAMAGE REPORT;
25 June 2007
SUMMARY
Paragraph 1
Over a considerable period of time, numerous
complaints have been lodged with Yorkshire Water concerning the
inadequacies of the sewerage system in the village and problems
that various home owners have with sewage backing-up in the drains.
In some areas the surface water run-off is connected to the main
drainage system which compounds the problem.
Paragraph 2
North Yorkshire experienced very heavy rainfall
during Monday the 25 June 2007 when we recorded a total of 43
mm of rainfall during the 24 hours from 1800 hours on the 24 June.
Paragraph 3
This resulted in areas of the village becoming
flooded, to a magnitude that has never been seen in the memory
of elderly residents who have lived in the village all their lives.
Emergency Services were called to the village to pump out water
from a house that had been contaminated with raw sewage, as well
as drainage ditches that could not contain the volume of water.
Paragraph 4
Subsequent investigations have shown that a
land drain pipe, believed to have been installed twenty years
ago is plugged, and it is believed that this is central to the
problems that occurred with surface water flooding.
REPORT ON
FLOODING IN
RUFFORTH
Paragraph 5
Mains water was not supplied to the village
until circa. 1953, when the main drainage system would have also
been installed. At that time there were probably about 62 houses
and farms in the main community of the village, and in the intervening
years this number has more than doubled with little or no increase
in the capacity of the sewerage system apart from the installation
of strategically placed pumping units.
Paragraph 6
Heavy rain had fallen in this area of North
Yorkshire during the previous two weeks which had water-logged
the ground prior to the very heavy rain storm that occurred on
Monday 25 June 2007. The drainage ditches had managed to cope
with the volume of surface water but some flooding had occurred
on the B 1224 York to Wetherby road which passes through the village.
Paragraph 7
During the course of the day water levels in
the drainage ditches increased until it overflowed into the gardens
of properties in Bradley Lane and also onto the B 1224. When this
happens, one house in particular, "Ivy Cottage", is
likely to flood and precautionary sand bag defences are placed
across doors in an attempt to stop the ingress of water into the
building. The drains from the house are also vulnerable and a
"check valve" has been installed in an attempt to stop
sewage entering the building. In this instance it failed to prevent
the sewage contaminating the building.
Paragraph 8
The rainfall was so heavy that surface water
from the airfield adjacent to the south of the village flowed
across the gardens of properties in Southfield Close and into
the back garden of my bungalow in Bradley Lane, the additional
volume of water could not be accommodated in the already overloaded
ditch system around my garden. The water level in the back garden
rose to between 250 mm and 1500 mm, which resulted in the water
level at the front of the building to rise. Water then encroached
to the walls of the building causing water to seep into the front
room which is at ground elevation.
Paragraph 9
Yorkshire Water had deployed pump trucks to
the village and they were operating on the B 1224 to lower the
level of water, because at that time the main road was closed.
I spoke to the person supervising the operation to find out if
they would be able to pump water away from my property, but I
was advised that the drivers and crew were almost out of hours
and so I then had to consider alternative arrangements.
Paragraph 10
I contacted City of York Council to find out
if they had pumps to dispose of the water, only to be told that
all their pumps were working in other areas around York, but they
could supply sandbags. These would not have helped my particular
situation and I advised them accordingly.
Paragraph 11
However about an hour later a council employee
called at the door offering sandbags to me. Having seen the situation
he could see that sandbags would not have helped and he suggested
that I call the Fire Service, which I did. The Fire Service could
not provide immediate help but a Fire Tender arrived about an
hour later and pumped water from the ditch outside my property
for approximately three hours, until the surface water was away
from the walls of the building. This prevented more water entering
the property.
Paragraph 12
The following day I hired a carpet cleaning
kit and vacuumed about 10 gallons of "free" water from
the front room carpet. There was additional water in the carpet
and under-felt but it was impossible to economically recover any
more.
Paragraph 13
The severity of the flooding was reported to
Yorkshire Water and also to City of York Council and both organizations
have taken re-active action. Yorkshire Water have had "jetting"
equipment in the village to clear the main drains and City of
York Council have been tracing the surface water drain into which
the ditch in front of my property discharges. They have established
that there is a blockage in a pipe that carries the water across
a field into a main land drainage dyke. It would appear that had
this pipe been clear the water would have drained into the dyke,
preventing the surface water from flooding the adjacent area.
Paragraph 14
The City of York Council have indicated that
they will have to carry out repair and maintenance work to clear
this pipe. I am not aware of any maintenance work being carried
out since the pipe was installed, which to the best of my knowledge
was twenty years ago.
CONCLUSION
Paragraph 15
The rainfall in the area of North Yorkshire
on the 25 June 2007 was exceptional and coupled together with
the heavy rain that had fallen in the area during the previous
two weeks, the land could not absorb the water. This resulted
in the increase of surface water run-off which overloaded the
capacity of the drainage ditches.
Paragraph 16
However it has been established that the underground
pipe which carries water away from the ditches to a main land
drainage dyke is blocked. Had regular maintenance been carried
out, it is very likely that the flooding in this area of the village
would have been minimal or even prevented. There are a number
of properties that would still have been badly affected by backed-up
sewage because surface water from some properties is discharged
into the sewage system which is overloaded at the best of times.
Paragraph 17
Both Yorkshire Water and City of York Council
must carry out a detailed survey of the drainage systems in the
village as a whole and carry out a regular maintenance programme
to guarantee that this situation will not re-occur again.
Malcolm G Coward
August 2007
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