Scottish Water insists it is “highly confident” problems with waterlogging on Dundee FC’s pitch are not linked to decades-old flooding issues just yards from the stadium.
The utility firm has been contacted 25 times in the last four years by residents and businesses complaining about flooding on Dens Road.
Most of the issues surround one property where the basement constantly floods during heavy rain.
But documents obtained by The Courier show there have also been instances of raw sewage flooding people’s gardens.
Some locals claim they have been reporting problems for up to 30 years.
However, Scottish Water says it does not believe these issues have any bearing on the Dens Park pitch problems – which have forced the postponement of five games this season.
Raw sewage flooded from Dens Road drains
A Scottish Water investigation report from summer 2023 – released to The Courier through Freedom of Information – found Dens Road was prone to flooding and drainage problems.
One incident reported in July 2022 said: “Customer reported sewage flooding the road outside of their house.
“This has been an ongoing issue for the past 30 years and is currently stopping customer from leaving their house.
“The full street has been flooded.”
Other incidents involving sewage spilling from drains were reported throughout 2021 and 2022.
The Evening Telegraph also reported on a case of sewage outside Dens Road homes in 2019.
The Scottish Water document also detailed how “Den Road has been identified as a flood risk along its whole length”.
It continued: “The model predicts that various manholes along the length of Dens Road will flood during rainfall events.”
However, it added that “due to the steep nature” of the road, floodwater would stay within the boundary of the road and that the flood risk to properties was “low”.
Scottish Water was also contacted by the occupier of another premises who had experienced flooding on more than 10 occasions.
The report said: “The manholes and gullies on Dens Road surcharge during heavy rain and cause water to flow down the road like a river.”
It detailed how water would sometimes flood the corner of Dens Road and Isla Street, including the footpath, causing water to enter flats.
The report also detailed discussions between Scottish Water and the occupier of the Best-One shop.
It said: “The customer has occupied the premises for 18 years.
“(The shop) has experienced internal flooding at least once per year since moving in.
“The drain in the basement surcharges whenever there is heavy rain, causing the full basement to flood.
‘Critical review’ of Dens Road sewer planned
“The customer could not recall any dates and had not reported the flooding to SW.
“As soon as the rainfall ends the water drains away very quickly but usually causes damage to basement stock.
“Customer can no longer store stock in basement due to previous experiences.”
Mitigation measures are now being considered.
Scottish Water also intends to carry out a “critical review” of the Dens Road sewer this year, though this is said to be part of routine inspection and maintenance work.
Scottish Water has ‘high confidence’ about impact of Dens Road flooding on Dens Park pitch
The details have been revealed just days after former Dundee FC owner Peter Marr claimed there had been long-standing issues with drainage in and around the ground.
However, Scottish Water does not believe these flooding issues impact on Dens Park.
A spokesperson said: “Scottish Water has not received any contact from Dundee FC about the drainage issue affecting the pitch at Dens Park.
“We do not have any knowledge of, or involvement with, the private drainage infrastructure within the ground.
“Any drains will be the responsibility of the club or the landowner until they leave the property.
“We are aware of and seeking to address flood risk linked to the public sewer network on Dens Road, but this affects low-lying properties some distance from Dens Park and between 12 and 15 metres below the height of the pitch.
“The height difference gives us high confidence that this issue is not the cause of drainage problems affecting the football pitch.”
Dundee FC have been contacted for comment.
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