FLOOD DEFENCES: Roadshow's advice on keeping your home safe from flooding

Since buying their home facing onto the River Ouse in Grange Garth a decade or so ago, they have been flooded a dozen times.

The damage had always been fairly minor, however - and the Butterys thought of their home as being almost flood-proof. The downstairs floors and walls are all tiled; there's a flood gate which can be fixed to the door when the waters start to rise; raised electrics; a powerful pump; even a 'collapsible kitchen' that can be removed in the event of flooding.

Despite all these preparations, however, the house's flood defences were unable to cope on Boxing Day.

At one point, David remembers the water outside the house rising up against the windows. The pumps were struggling manfully, so that inside the house the water level was lower. But then some of the floor tiles lifted up and geysers of water burst inside...

Five months later, they're still living in rented accommodation waiting for repairs to the house and grounds to be completed. They won't be able to go back home until July, Jackie says.

David and Jackie Buttery at a Flood Advisory Service roadshow in York 

Fortunately, the couple had specialist flood insurance. So they are covered. But while their insurers will pay for the work that needs to be done, it is up to the Butterys themselves to arrange everything: to source materials, contact builders, get quotes, arrange times. "It wasn't the floods themselves, but the aftermath that has been the worst!" David says.

At least they're retired - David a former shipwright, his wife the former assistant head of Selby High School.

Organising everything has been stressful enough even so, Jackie says. "I nearly crumbled! I feel so sorry for people (flood victims) who are working!"

The Butterys are people who did everything right. And while the sheer scale of the Boxing Day floods meant that even their home was overwhelmed, they're confident that they can cope with what David calls 'normal floods'.

Many others whose properties are in a flood risk area could well take a leaf out of their book.

Flood resilience is the buzz term these days - and it was on the lips of just about everyone who turned up at a 'floods roadshow' held in the car park of Morrisons in Foss Islands Road.

The roadshow was organised by the national Flood Advisory Service, a not-for-profit organisation that advises on minimising the impact of flooding. It brought together representatives from the city council, Make It York, the Environment Agency and other flood protection organisations in a 'one stop shop' at which homeowners and businesses affected by flooding could get advice on everything from how to flood-proof their homes to sources of funding and even how to assess whether their home or businesses was a flood risk.

Steve Barnard of Flood Divert demonstrates a Floodtite home defence gate

The principle behind the roadshow is that prevention is better than cure, explained Sarah Marriott, the Flood Advisory Service's managing director.

There were plenty of examples of flood defence products on show, therefore - everything from floodproof doors that look just like ordinary doors, but should be able to keep out water up to two feet deep, to flood barriers that can be fixed to doors, and even anti-flood airbricks. Airbricks, in case you don't know, are the perforated bricks found low down in many houses that aid ventilation. But, if your property floods, they can let in 5,000 litres of water an hour. Anti-flood airbricks automatically seal when flood waters rise - and reopen when they recede, to allow ventilation again.

A flood-tight airbrick that allows ventilation while keeping out flood water

All this kind of stuff costs money, of course - but, for businesspeople or homeowners whose properties were flooded in December, there are resilience grants of up to £5,000 available to help with floodproofing (see panel).

So how useful did people who visited the roadshow yesterday find it?

Andrew Burnard had come along on behalf of his daughter Ruth, whose two-up two-down terrace in River Street had been flooded. She couldn't make it herself because she was working, Mr Burnard said, so he's come in her place. "But I think this is a very good initiative."

Electrician Nick Atkinson, meanwhile, had come along to get advice about building some sort of protective barrier for three homes in Strensall, including his, that had been flooded by the Foss.

His own home wasn't too badly damaged, he admitted: it flooded to a depth of only four inches or so, and the water only stayed in the house for about 12 hours. He and his wife had to take up the carpet and laminated floors, but otherwise, after drying the house out, the damage wasn't too bad. The family didn't even have to move out.

But theirs was one of three neighbouring properties that were flooded - and Nick was delegated by his neighbours to find out about the possibility of some sort of external barrier to slow down future floodwaters. The roadshow had certainly proved useful, he admitted: he'd arranged for a visit from Steve Barnard, boss of local flood protection specialists Flood Divert.

Even the Butterys learned something useful. They discovered a 'non-return valve' - a device that can be fitted to your external plumbing to stop sewage backing up in the event of a flood. That sounds like the kind of thing worth knowing about if your home is in a flood-risk area...

Managing your flood risk

The Flood Advisory Service recommends following a simple six-step process to better protect your home against flooding.

Step 1: Understand your own flood risk. You can find out how much at risk your home or business is by using the free flood risk checker on the organisation's website - www.floodadvisoryservice.co.uk/ - and typing in your postcode.

Step 2: Understand the different ways a property can flood. Water comes in through many points, the organisation points out - doors and windows, airbricks and vents, seepage through cable holes, cracks in walls, backflow through sewage pipes and even rising groundwater levels beneath the property. You need to think about all of these.

Step 3: Find out about the range of flood defence products that are available, and decide which might be useful in your case.

Kelly Merriman of the Flood Advisory Service with a flood defence door

Step 4: Choose a qualified and certified contractor.

Step 5: Get your property protected - which covers everything from having it surveyed to choosing flood protection products, selecting an installer and having them installed.

Step 6: Draw up a flood plan so that you know in advance exactly what you will do in the event of a flood. This includes signing up for free flood warnings from the Environment Agency: call the agency's floodline on 0345 988 1188 to do this, or visit www.gov.uk/sign-up-for-flood-warnings

For more information about any of these steps, call the Flood Advisory Service on 0800 970 3950 or visit www.floodadvisoryservice.co.uk

Useful information

Anybody whose home or business was flooded is entitled to apply for a flood resilience grant of up to £5,000 to help protect their property against flooding in future. To find out more visit the city council's website - www.york.gov.uk/floods - or call 01904 551550.

Local businesses can also apply for grants of up to £100,000 from the Leeds City Region LEP to replace equipment damaged by flooding - although grants are 'match-funding' only, and businesses who apply will have to pay an equal amount themselves. To find out more call Make It York on 01904 554400 and ask for Simon Middleton, the organisation's 'access to finance' manager, or visit www.yorkmeansbusiness.co.uk

The Flood Advisory Service has a wealth of information on its website about flood defence products and surveyors with expertise in flood defence who can advise on how to flood-proof your property, as well as details of certified installers. To find out more, visit www.floodadvisoryservice.co.uk