Residents hoping Scottish Water action will bring end to Montrose flooding misery
Montrose residents are pinning their hopes on work by Scottish Water ending nearly four decades of flooding misery.
Aulton Way residents Moira Flanagan and Brian McKiddie with a photo showing past flooding in the street.
- By Graham Brown
- Published in the Courier : 12.01.12
- Published online : 12.01.12 @ 11.07am
Engineers are due to carry out work on problems identified in the Aulton Way area of the town which have led to regular floods and residents having to endure sewage floating in the street.
After months of investigation, remedial work will focus on sewers in the Newhame Road/Newmanswalls Avenue vicinity. Locals hope it will be a final end to the difficulties.
Local councillor Mark Salmond welcomed the prospect of a solution after a concerted campaign by residents.
Mr Salmond said: ''The residents were in fear of being flooded every time it rained heavily. Despite making their complaints known, they felt no one was listening."
A meeting involving councillors, Scottish Water and Angus Council roads officers agreed a way ahead.
''It was a very constructive meeting and Scottish Water agreed to carry out CCTV survey work to try to identify any blockages or problems with the sewers in the surrounding area," said Mr Salmond.
The survey showed a partial choke across a downstream manhole channel.
''Once work is completed, Scottish Water are confident the issue should be greatly reduced,'' he said. ''The survey also indicated minor water infiltration to the sewer in Aulton Way, and a grouting exercise in the next few months to seal the joints should solve that problem.''
He added: ''I am delighted that, after months of investigations, remedial work to try to solve the problems is due to begin.
''It has been a long haul and the residents have worked patiently in conjunction with Scottish Water to provide tidal and rainfall information.
''Local resident Peter Flanagan should be congratulated for his hard work in liaising and providing details to Scottish Water.''
Mr Flanagan said he hoped the planned programme would solve the issue, but pledged residents would not hesitate to take the matter back to the local authority if flooding problems persist.
''It's unpredictable, but we think it may be related to high tides and heavy rain. It has happened pretty regularly over many years,'' said Mr Flanagan.
''There seems to be a weir that may be contributing to the problems. Although we don't know exactly what has caused it, if it's something as simple as that then hopefully it will bring an end to the problems.
''However, if it is a capacity issue that is something we would raise again with the council."
Mr Salmond added: ''Scottish Water occasionally gets a bad press, but on this occasion I would like thank them for the positive and constructive way they have gone about trying to solve this issue and the way they have kept all parties updated on their progress.''
A Scottish Water spokesperson said: ''Scottish Water contractors are carrying out initial work to help address flooding issues in the Aulton Way area of Montrose. We are confident that this work will help to alleviate these issues which have affected the immediate area for a number of years.
''We will continue to keep local customers fully informed on our progress. We would also like to thank residents for their help throughout the planning and investigation stages of this project."
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