Inquiry to take place into Dorset Council's response to flooding
The county's response to heavy rainfall has been described as largely superb
Dorset's response to heavy rainfall and flooding has been described as largely superb – although the council leader has acknowledged that lessons could be learned.
That is now likely to happen with a scrutiny committee meeting later in the year which will look at the Dorset Council response in detail – and any areas where improvement might be made.
Senior council officers will also be producing a report.
Several councillors have called for clarity about which organisation does what and where residents should turn to for help when faced with flooding of their homes and local roads.
Cllr Sherry Jespersen from Hill Forts and Upper Tarrants said the need for that information became apparent time after time in her area although she praised Wessex Water who responded, at the weekend, to calls about raw sewage in Pimperne.
Chalk Valleys councillor Gill Haynes made a plea for planning committees to take more notice of parish councillors when they warned about the flooding risks to proposed new housing developments.
Rodwell and Wyke Regis councillor Kate Wheller called for more money to be put aside to mitigate flood risks.
Council leader Nick Ireland said many of the problems had been down to an outdated infrastructure which still allowed ground and rainwater to mix with sewage in many areas.
“Wessex Water need to invest more… We do take flooding very seriously; they’re not a one in a hundred year event anymore, something which happens once in a blue moon; places are flooding once every year, or once every two years, and we need to address it.”
He said that was why the council had put an extra £5million into next year’s budget to tackle areas which repeatedly flooded and an extra £250,000 for gully clearing.
When asked about sewage pollution he told the Dorset Council meeting: “The reality is we are living with a system where it’s designed to overflow into rivers and the sea, sometimes, if it doesn’t do that, it’s going to come up through your loo and go into your house… a lot of these systems were designed over 100 years ago and I’m sure Wessex Water are doing the best they can.”
He said the authority was also working towards a climate reliance strategy which will be published later in the year while in Weymouth the harbour walls were being strengthened and increased in height.
The meeting heard that the number of pothole reports from January had doubled, compared to last year, with the same highways staff who turn out to deal with gritting and floodwater expected to find the time to deal with potholes as well.