Birkhill residents angered by latest water main failure
Residents of a street on the outskirts of Dundee, which has been flooded three times in the past year, have voiced their frustrations after the same water main burst again on Tuesday evening.
The water gushing on to the street. Below — children take advantage of the flooding for some fun.
- By Laura Thomas
- Published in the Courier : 01.09.10
- Published online : 01.09.10 @ 01.03pm
Water started gushing out of a pavement in Highfield Place, Birkhill, at around 5pm — forming a temporary stream that gushed all the way down Post Box Road and on to the Coupar Angus Road.
Engineers from Scottish Water managed to stem the flow about two hours later but neighbours are concerned the problem is merely being "patched up" rather than fully dealt with.
Local woman Sarah Smith (34) said, "Just three or four weeks ago they had to mend the pipe across from the house. The side of our house and wooden shed were flooded but we were on holiday so it had all drained by the time we returned.
"Luckily we keep our bikes, lawnmower and other things like that in a metal hut nearer the back, otherwise we would have come home to hundreds of pounds of damage."
The management consultant, who lives in a bungalow next to an electrical substation, added, "If it hits that, we're snookered.
"They will probably switch everything off for safety purposes so we've got the bath running in anticipation. Every pot and pan in the house is filled."
She added, "It seems like past work has been a patch job rather than a real solution."
Built a dam
Sarah's husband, Steve (38), a joiner, built a dam with sandbags to divert the deluge from the sub-station.
He said, "I don't work for the water board but it's like once they repair the pipe pressure just builds up somewhere else.
"It's all speculation but it is bizarre that this has happened for the third time in the same area. Maybe we need a new pipe?"
Peter Roussel (63) said repeat flooding had become a nuisance for inhabitants on the street.
"They will probably switch the water off for about eight hours, which was what happened the last time," he said. "The danger is the electricity box, which has now been sandbagged, but the drain is also now blocked.
"One would have thought that after discovering a problem three times they would be scooping the pipe to find out the weakness."
Neighbour Kenneth Nicoll (69) said, "The water is pelting down the street and coming through to my garden. I'm very concerned by what is happening as they only fixed the pipe outside number nine a few weeks ago."
A Scottish Water spokesman said, "Scottish Water engineers are investigating water rising in the Highfield Place area of Dundee. We will carry out any necessary repairs as quickly and safely as possible.
"We would like to take this opportunity to apologise for any inconvenience that may have been caused by this issue."
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