Climate change experts in South Yorkshire fear flooding will 'get worse' in years to come
Professor Liz Sharp from the University of Sheffield has been speaking to us as part of our investigation into the flooding at Catcliffe last year
Climate change experts across South Yorkshire fear flooding will get 'more severe' in the years to come.
We've been speaking with Liz Sharp - who's a Professor of Water & Planning - at the University of Sheffield.
She's been talking to us as part of our investigation into the flooding at Catcliffe last October - which's being described as South Yorkshire's forgotten village:
"Flooding is going to get worse, and the ways we've dealt with it in the past - which have mostly been about building more flood defences - can be very problematic, because they're extremely expensive, environmentally damaging, and often just move the flood from one place to another.
"One of the big causes of flooding is sewers becoming overwhelmed.
"So, this isn't the Environment Agency who's responsible for that; it's the water companies.
"However, we can't 100% blame the water companies, because they've got this Victorian pipe system that wasn't built for the volume of streets and houses that we've got now.
"We cannot guarantee people won't be flooded again.
"If you've been flooded once, you're more likely to be flooded again, because for one reason or another, you're in a position that's vulnerable.
"My advice would be to think very carefully, and if you can afford to, think about whether you can re-develop your house in a way that makes it flood resilient."
In response, a Yorkshire Water spokesperson said:
“We understand the concerns of customers in the area following the flooding they experienced during storm Babet.
"During those floods, our pumping station in Catcliffe was damaged. We have now replaced the two pumps and carried out a refurbishment of the pumping station to improve resilience in the future."