More work is being carried out on a Dunfermline burn to prevent a repeat of a failure during last autumn’s floods which saw a wall collapse on to two cars.
A blocked culvert at Tower Burn in Pittencrieff Park caused major problems as water spewed on to Forth Street and led to the boundary wall giving way, damaging the cars.
A report to an earlier Fife Council executive committee said the incident was caused as a result of the blockage of a trash screen by leaves, plastic bags and logs.
It was said it was not an issue caused by the beleaguered Dunfermline flood prevention scheme, which was finally completed eight years and a staggering £34.5 million over budget.
Councillors will today discuss further measures which are being put in place to reduce the flooding risk at the culvert grill on the south side of Dunfermline’s Pittencrieff Park.
Executive members will hear details of steps being taken to make sure last year’s flood doesn’t recur.
Some improvements have already been introduced and others should be completed by this autumn.
These include:
- Modifications to a trash screen. Intermediate bars on the screen have been removed to allow smaller debris to freely pass through;
- Operational cleaning. Weekly inspections of the screen and extra inspections following heavy rainfall. Staff are manually clearing any debris from the trash screen;
- Improved debris clearance within park. Parks staff regularly walk through the burn side, removing any large items of tree debris;
- Culvert entrance lighting. The council will install lighting to the entrance of the culvert to aid night time and winter clearances. The estimated cost is £4,200;
- Water level monitoring system. The local authority will install sensors upstream and downstream of the trash screen, with the difference in water levels triggering warnings. This has an estimated installation cost of £3,400 and running costs of £1,300 per year;
- Upstream screen. The council will install a wooden post screen 80m upstream from the culvert, to catch larger debris and easily remove it from the burn.
The flood prevention revenue budget will met the costs of introducing these improvements
Councillor Pat Callaghan, executive spokesperson for the environment and transportation, said: “We’re sure these additional measures will help mitigate the potential for further flooding at this location.”
Meanwhile the wall damaged during last year’s flood is nearly complete.
