Thatcham flood prevention plans revealed
Three giant basins could be dug
Huge holes are to be dug in Thatcham to prevent more flooding.
Engineers have submitted plans for constructing flood basins in Bowling Green Lane and West Health Lane in Cold Ash and at Floral Way in Thatcham.
The basins, to be fed by a series of pipes and ditches, can hold more than 7,400 cubic metres of water.
The South Basin will have a 29m-wide weir to take water flows from the North Basin.
Flood alleviation schemes provide protection to the residents of East Thatcham most at risk.
The proposed basin alongside that to the north of Health Lane forms part of the proposed flood alleviation scheme for North Thatcham.
In the past, during extreme rainfall, the systems have been overwhelmed and flood waters have overflowed on to the road and flooded residential properties.
The scheme is designed to allow a controlled release into the West Berkshire and Thames Water sewer systems.
Thatcham has a long history of flooding dating back to the 1940s.
Although there is no definitive account of where and when flooding occurred, Thatcham Historical Society has records of flooding in 1947, 1959, 1961, 1971, 1978, 1986 and 2006 prior to the flooding in summer 2007.
The flooding was frequently caused by a combination of runoff from the rural catchment to the north of the town and urban overland flows.
In more recent times flooding has occurred in East Thatcham in December 2013 and January 2014.
On July 20, 2007, Thatcham suffered widespread surface water flooding affecting at least 1,100 houses.
From December 2013 to March 2014, West Berkshire, like many other parts of the county, experienced an unprecedented period of wet weather.
This resulted in significant flooding in many parts of the district from different sources including, rivers, groundwater and public sewers.
A second element of the proposal is to put approximately 6,979 cubic metres of soil from the site on to land north of Tull Way and Bowling Green Road.
These two sites will accommodate all excess spoil from the three new basins proposed within Thatcham.
West Berkshire Council as the Lead Local Flood Authority will be responsible for the maintenance the flood alleviation scheme. Landowners with adjoining ditches which form part of the network are responsible or maintaining their watercourses.
The plans are before West Berkshire’s eastern area planning committee on Wednesday and are recommended for approval.