Denials that Dunfermline’s flood prevention scheme failed last month when a wall collapsed on to sports cars during a torrential downpour have been branded ridiculous.
Fife Council said the incident on November 15 could not be construed as a failure of the £35 million system, recently completed after running years over schedule and millions of pounds over budget.
A trash screen or grate at the Tower Burn was blocked with leaves and debris from Pittencrieff Park and in the early hours water cascaded into Lovers Loan and the surrounding area.
SNP town councillor Neale Hanvey insisted the scheme failed significantly and called for a review to ensure homes in the area were not put at risk again.
He said: “This has been a PR disaster for the council. The trash screen is part of the scheme which failed and failed significantly.
“To say the failure has nothing to do with the system is nonsense, we have to be honest about it.”
Mr Hanvey said the blockage was down to a lack of proper maintenance and added: “We cannot let this happen again.”
However, Rosyth councillor and environment spokesman Pat Callaghan argued the system does work and that the screen was checked just hours before the incident.
He said the rain was “biblical” that night and suggested an alarm system be installed to alert engineers to future blockages, in addition to other measures approved.
Kirkcaldy councillor Neil Crooks also said it was wrong to say the system was at fault.
He said: “This was a freak of nature. I don’t think we could have protected against something like that.”
A review is to be conducted of the culvert trash screen arrangement and consideration given to modifications.
Improved maintenance and debris removal is also to be sought at the burn slopes during autumn and monthly mechanical clearance of the trash screen implemented.
A lighting unit is to be installed to aid any future night-time emergency works.
Transportation and environment head of assets, Ken Gourlay, told councillors the Tower Burn trash screen, which protects the underground culvert, is checked weekly and due to a Met Office flood alert was checked again the day before the flood.
However, he said that in a relatively short period of time an immense volume of debris from the park carried by surging water choked the screen.
Flood water caused part of a boundary wall to collapse, damaging two cars parked on the pavement in Coal Road.
Mr Gourlay said: “The cause of the incident was solely as a result of the blockage at the trash screen and cannot and should not be construed as any failure of the recently completed Dunfermline flood prevention scheme.”
He said it was impossible to guarantee no future blockages of trash screens but that the measures approved would help mitigate the risk of further flooding.