Agenda item

To provide a basis for the Committee to consider the delivery of the Council’s statutory duties in respect of the draft section 19 investigation report into the flooding in Blackpool on the 22 November 2017.

The Committee considered a report regarding investigations by the Council and United Utilities (UU) into the 22 November 2018 flooding in Blackpool.

The Chairman welcomed Ms Katy Duffy, Drainage Asset Manager, Unities Utilities, Mr Andrew Kendall, Area Business Manager, United Utilities, Mr Steven Kenyan, Network Manager, United Utilities and Mr Paul Bond, Flood Resilience Adviser, Environment Agency to the meeting.

Ms Duffy presented the findings of the investigation conducted by UU into the flooding incident. The methods of drainage of surface and sewer water were explained to Members, outlining that watercourses in the north of Blackpool drained into the Fylde Tunnel System. The flooding of 22 November 2017 was attributed to the unexpected nature of the weather event and described as a once in 64 year storm. Ms Duff also explained that the ground and sewer system had been saturated by previous rainfall which created hydraulic issues with the drainage of surface water on the night. Combined with the flat nature of some of the watercourses this meant that once the ground had become saturated and the sewer had reached capacity the flood waters could not drain.

It was also stated that the area remained at high risk of future flooding if a similar weather event occurred.

Members asked if the pumps at the Anchorsholme pumping station could have been manually activated earlier to mitigate the worse of the flooding. Mr Kendall explained that the pumps worked automatically and would only work once the sewer and connected wet wells were full. This had happened at around 2am on 23 November 2017, although it was recognised that one of the five pumps at the station had tripped and not functioned.

The Committee queried if the existing water in the sewer system could have been discharged into the sea before the night of 22 November 2017 or when it had become clear that a significant amount of rain was falling. Mr Kenyon responded that the UU required permission from the Environment Agency (EA) to discharge sewer water into the sea, and confirmed that permission had not been sought during the night of the 22 November 2017. Members went on to ask why this had been the case and questioned if a financial motive had led to the decision not to discharge. In response Mr Kendall advised that discharging sewer water into the sea required a permit regulated by the EA. UU had a permit, the conditions of which required them to seek authorisation from EA for any discharge. Failure to seek permission would result in UU suffering disciplinary action which could include a financial penalty. It was further added that although UU had not requested permission to discharge water from Anchorsholme Pumping Station, permission had been sought and received from EA to discharge water held at Skippool Pumping Station. It was explained that this course of action was undertaken to relieve pressure on Anchorsholme Pumping Station as waters from Skippool Pumping Station were drained into it.

It was further reported that directors from UU would be meeting with representatives from EA to discuss the procedures for discharging water into the sea, with a view to increasing the amounts permitted.

Discussion also took place around why the level of rainfall had not been foreseen by either UU or EA on the 22 November 2017. Mr Kenyon advised that the Met Office had predicted that the bulk of the rainfall approaching the North West on that date would fall in Cumbria and had lifted a weather warning for Blackpool earlier in the day. Mr Bond added that the EA had not received a warning of a weather event of the scale experienced.

The Committee also asked if the failure of one of the five pumps at the Anchorsholme Pumping Station had contributed to the scale of the flooding. And cited correspondence from Paul Maynard MP which indicated that the failure of the pump had meant that the flooding was worse than if it had been operational. Mr Kenyon responded that this was potentially correct but more work would be needed to understand the capacity of the pumps under similar conditions to be confident that this had been the case.

Members also questioned why it was that incorrect information had been given out by UU workers on the night of the flooding, such as incorrectly stating that pump stations were the responsibility of Blackpool Council. Mr Kenyon responded that there were pumps in and around Blackpool operated by the EA and Lancashire County Council and not UU, but that he accepted that some of the information given out on the night of the flooding was unhelpful.

The Chairman invited Mr Colin Wolfendale to address the Committee regarding his experience of the flooding and the events that followed. Mr Wolfendale explained that he was attending on behalf of his daughter and her family who had been forced to leave their home as a result of the flooding. He highlighted a number of points regarding United Utilities actions following the 22 November 2017, including; delays in responding to queries, perceived attempts to lay responsibility for the flooding on other agencies and the time it had taken to investigate and implement improvements. He also raised the issue the financial cost to residents of the flooding including increased insurance premiums.

Following this the Chairman also invited Mr Paul Hewitt to address the Committee. Mr Hewitt explained that he was attending to represent local residents affected by the flooding. He highlighted what many local people regarded as poor communication from UU during the flooding and raised concerns that UU had misled people regarding the events that had occurred. He also questioned why UU engineers had attended the Anchorsholme Pumping Station on the night of the flood despite reassurances that the pumps were working.

Mr Bond gave short update to the Committee on the work EA had undertaken following the flooding, including a community drop in event on 18 July 2018 to discuss flooding issues with residents. He reported that feedback from the event had been generally positive. The Committee was also informed that EA had set up a Flood Hub website to provide information and useful links to residents and business owners affected by or at risk of flooding.

Following consideration of the information presented to the Committee, it was recommended that the following information be included in the final Section 19 report into the flooding of 22 November 2017;

•          Evidence of the impact of the failure of one of the five pumps at Anchorsholme Pumping Station;

•          Examination of the mechanism used to predict weather; and

•          A break-down of what work had been undertaken since 22 November 2018 2017 to give assurance that a similar event would not happen again.

It was also requested that guidance on flood insurance for residents be issued by United Utilities and the Environment Agency, including who they could formally complain to and how to do so.

The Committee further emphasised that agencies involved in responding to the flooding of 22 November 2017 had lost the trust of the local community and that they needed to work hard to regain it and ensure that there was not a recurrence.