Perth residents and businesses are counting the cost of the latest flooding to batter the city.
Drains overflowed, sewers backed up and dirty water poured into gardens and properties as torrential rain wreaked havoc on Sunday night.
Perth and Kinross Council has confirmed it did not close the floodgates on the South Inch.
But it insists it would not have helped in this case.
A spokesperson said: “Closing the floodgates on the South Inch, in this incident, would not have prevented this from happening or had any impact on the water levels.
“However, the floodgates should always be closed when the Met Office issues a yellow weather warning and we will take steps to ensure this happens in future.”
The deluge came one year and two days after the last major flooding to hit Perth.
Perth pair hit by flooding for fifth time
Allan Whtye has not been able to return to his home in the Craigie area since the September 2022 flood.
He should have been flying to Portugal on Monday for a week’s holiday to celebrate his retirement from the Forestry Commission.
Instead he took wife Fiona to the airport, then went home to mop up the mess left behind after the fifth flood they have had to deal with at their home in Gray Street.
The couple are living in the flat above, which they used to lease to a tenant.
Allan said the floor under his ground floor home was still sodden, but they had been unable to reach an agreement with their insurer over the cost of repairs.
Of greater concern is the likelihood that their home will flood again.
“We’ve been out of the house since September 2022,” he said.
“Before that, we were flooded in 2020. This will be the fifth time. The girl next door has been flooded as well.”
Allan added: “The water comes off the Glasgow Road, down Cavendish Avenue and swirls around the bottom at Gray Street.
“They tell me it has nothing to do with all the new houses that have been built along Glasgow Road. But we never had problems like this before those houses were built.”
Craigie bears brunt of Perth flooding
The Craigie area has been particularly badly hit by flooding in Perth in recent years.
The Cherrybank Inn reported that its car park was also flooded on Sunday night.
The venue faced a costly clear-up bill last September, when outdoor tables and kegs were swept away in a “river” of floodwater. It was also hit in August 2020.
The problems are typically down to a combination of the Craigie Burn overflowing and the ageing drains and sewers backing up.
Local residents joined forces to set up the Perth Community Flood Aid group earlier this year.
Members share advice on how to install flood prevention equipment, such as air-brick covers and water pumps. The group is also planning to site sandbag stores across Craigie.
The group said 37mm of rain fell in Sunday night’s storm, 20mm in a single hour.
Will new Perth developments lead to more problems?
Perth Community Flood Aid spokeswoman Janice Haig was waiting for Scottish Water to come and clean the sewage detritus from her garden after the latest flooding yesterday.
She said there was about eight inches of water outside at the height of the storm. Some seeped under the floor of the house. But the problems would have been much worse if the family had not spent £6,000 on flood prevention equipment, including barriers and a water pump.
Janice said their street’s location at Croft Park, where the Craigie Burn meets the South Inch, made it particularly prone to flooding.
“If the flood gates are open, we get the water from the Inch and if they’re closed the water just backs up elsewhere,” she said.
“The problem is the sewer system. It was built in 1902 with a new bit put in with the flood defences after the 1997 flood.
“They’re building a new super sewer for Perth. But that’s only to serve Bertha Park and the new development planned for Broxden, which is just going to mean more hard surfaces and more flooding.”
Perth Community Flood Aid is keen to build up a detailed picture of flooding across Perth and is urging anyone affected to make contact through its Facebook page, or by emailing floodingperth@outlook.com.
Council insists new developments not to blame
Perth and Kinross Council said crews were out overnight monitoring water levels in Craigie Burn and clearing trash screens in Queen’s Avenue to minimise the risk of flooding.
A spokesperson said: “The council understand how distressing flooding incidents can be.
“Unfortunately, exceptional weather events are becoming more frequent. And flooding is having a greater impact and effect across the whole country.
“The Council works with its partners to manage the risk of flooding and we published our updated Tay Local Flood Risk management Plan in 2022.
“Advice on what to do in the event of a flood, and how people can protect their properties, is available on our website.”
Regarding new developments, the spokesperson added: “All new development must comply with national and local planning policies and include sustainable drainage systems to manage surface water.
“This effectively means new development has a neutral impact on flood risk.”
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