On August 8, floods devastated large parts of March, forcing many families from their homes.
Nine months on, Cambridgeshire County Council has released a newsletter to inform residents, street by street, of the steps taken to prevent future incidents.
Listed are completed investigations and those which are still ongoing.
COMPLETED INVESTIGATIONS
Alpha Street and Station Road. Four properties flooded.
All Highways gullies and lateral systems on Alpha Street and Station Road have been jetted.
Some minor issues were found on Station Road caused by utility companies. These were repaired before the resurfacing works. The pipes go into an Anglian Water combined sewer.
Anglian Water has been unable to find a specific cause to the flooding in this area. They believe the cause was the amount of rainwater that fell, which overwhelmed the system in March and surrounding areas.
Their camera investigations in the immediate area have checked for structural failures and the system has been jetted.
Investigations are, however, ongoing into the wider network in March and looking at how various places are impacted in extreme wet weather.
A blockage due to fat deposits has been found in the Anglian Water pipes on Station Road at the junction of St Johns Road. This has been cleared and the system left in working order.
Century Way. One property flooded
Internal flooding was reported to Anglian Water. Surface water flooding occurred due to the ditch next to the beetroot factory in Hostmoor Avenue, which has now been cleared.
Fisherman’s Drive. One property flooded
Fourteen gullies in this area were cleansed on June 11 with no issues reported.
Since the flooding Cambs County Council have ordered investigative works to be carried out to see if there are any problems with the current system.
The investigation found a pipe network was infested with tree roots and the chamber was heavily silted. The roots have been removed and the chamber cleaned.
A blockage was also found. Repair works to it took place last month.
Lime Grove
A resident contacted Steve Barclay MP about issues with Anglian Water and reported that their home was flooded.
Anglian Water records show a visit in 2009 and CCTV was carried out. Their records show this required a clean and a small repair. Their file does not indicate any blockages.
SInce the August floods, Anglian Water have ordered a CCTV survey, which found the pipe to be in an acceptable condition.
Nene Parade
The cost of repairing bank erosion has been split between the county council and the Middle Level Commissioners.
North Street and Norwood Avenue
Problems have been reported however the county council requires more information. None has been forthcoming and the investigation has been closed.
Orwell Drive
The outfall into the river, which was blocked with tree roots, has been cleared.
Officers have cleaned all the gullies and jetted all the pipe work. They are all reported to be running well.
Queen Street. Five properties were thought to have been flooded
Investigations into flooding issues here have found no further information and have therefore been closed.
Truman Avenue. No properties flooded
Water on the highway was investigated, and shown to flow away after the heavy rain.
Upwell Road
A garden flooded. Jetting took place undertaken it and the system is now running freely.
Windsor Drive
Residents reported issues to Anglian Water who investigated the problems.
All systems have been checked and fortnightly maintenance visits have increased to weekly.
Shingle has been replaced on West End where sewer flooding occurred.
Wisbech Road. Five properties flooded
An investigation of gullies and drainage system at various locations was undertaken.
A contractor jetted from the dyke to the manhole at the KFC sign. No issues were found and the pipe was left running well.
ONGOING INVESTIGATIONS
Birchwood Avenue, Brewin Avenue, Cherrywood Ave, Cherryholt Avenue, Burrowmoor Road, Ellingham Avenue, Sycamore Close. About 10 properties flooded.
The drainage system along Birchwood Avenue has been inspected and jetted and found to be clear. The issue is with a blockage in the drainage system in a garden to the rear of a private property on Cherrywood Avenue, which Birchwood Avenue connects into.
The drainage section of Birchwood Avenue from Brewin Avenue to Burrowmoor Road has been flushed and dye tested (from Birchwood Avenue to its outfall) and any blockages have been removed. This part of the investigation is complete.
The drainage section of Birchwood Avenue from Brewin Avenue to Butt Avenue has been investigated and found to come to a dead end – some time ago residents filled in the dyke.
The lower half of Birchwood and Butt Avenue will continue to have problems until the funding is available to do works to compensate for the filled in dyke.
The Butt Avenue section is subject to ongoing investigations to establish design options to create a suitable new outfall. £34,000 has been allocated to the project by the county council in the 2015/16 budget
Calvary Drive. One property flooded
All gullies have been cleaned and jetted. Now, all pipes to the main pipe are working well.
The main pipe is blocked near No. 19. The piped system has been cleansed and dye traced.
The drainage system flows from Cavalry Drive through Percheron Drive to a dyke next to the cemetery.
The system is running clear and free. The county council’s enforcement team is investigating dyke ownership and maintenance.
Cedar Close. Two properties flooded
This section of Cedar Close affected by the flooding has not yet been adopted by the county council.
Anglian Water is investigating the issues here. Anglian Water has traced the surface water drain in Cedar Close and it runs through to New Park then to a ditch in Shaftsbury Avenue. It is full and needs clearing. The ditch belongs to Middle Level drainage.
Anglian Water are in discussion with Middle Level over clearance of the ditch.
Creek Road, March
A ditch overflowed into a garden. Investigative works have been ordered by the county council.
Gaul Road, March. External flooding issues
Anglian Water has jetted systems on Gaul Road and removed two tonnes of silt. Investigations are ongoing.
Highways closures have been scheduled around the police station for January to remove more debris from the system.
Anglian Water has put non-return valves on some properties, undertaken jetting works and carried out a CCTV survey, which found the system is now running clear.
Gold Street, March. Five properties flooded by sewerage
As a one off gesture of goodwill by the county council, the watercourse next to the beetroot factory in Hostmoor Avenue has been cleared.
Anglian Water has been in and checked their systems, which are running clear. They are also assessing their asset which may hold water back in the watercourse behind Gold Street.
The watercourse to the rear of the street is the responsibility of private landowners, however as a one off gesture of goodwill the county council has cleaned out this watercourse.
Anglian Water is looking into improvements which can be made within the section of surface water sewer between Gold Street and Norwood Road.
Fenland District Council have agreed to monitor the watercourse next to the beetroot factory in Hostmoor Avenue monthly in an attempt to reduce fly tipping and littering, which blocks up the watercourse increasing flood risk to those upstream.
Highfield Road. Garages and one conservatory flooded
Investigative works found cement wash in the highways system. This has been cleared and the systems were left in working order.
Campbell Way (off Dagless Way). One conservatory flooded
A drainage system investigation has been ordered.
Knights End Road. One property flooded
Investigative works have been completed but further works are being ordered by the county council.
Morton Avenue. Four properties flooded
A nearby pump failed due to a power cut, which could have contributed to flooding.
A highways drainage network survey has been undertaken and the network is clear and running as it should.
Partners are working together to put measures in place to reduce risk to the low lying properties affected by flooding in this area.
This area is within an area identified as a wetspot. A consultant has been appointed by the county council to develop a local flood risk management scheme.
Proposals have been prepared which will be used to bid for Environment Agency/DEFRA funding.
Norwood Road. Flooding to gardens
This is connected to Gold Street investigation into the watercourses at the back of Norwood Road and Gold Street, as well as downstream next to the beetroot factory in Hostmoor Avenue.
Gullies have been jetted. The pipes had silt in and some blockages were found and cleared. The system is now fully working.
Poplar Close. 10 properties flooded
The drainage system was investigated and cleansed, with all the gullies cleansed and the mainline jetted.
Root infestation was found between the manhole outside No. 12 and Wisbech Road.
The drainage system on Poplar Close was cleaned and root infestation removed.
The county council are investigating the drainage system Poplar Close connects into. They have traced it to a privately owned riparian dyke.
Rookswood Road. One property flooded
Investigative works have been ordered by the county council. Flooding issues may be attributed to works undertaken by Lidl.
The county council is working in partnership with the district council, and is in talks with Lidl regarding remedial works.
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