York residents warned their homes at risk of flooding after pumps fail (From York Press)
Get in touch: send your photos, videos, news & views by texting YORK to 80360 or send an email»
York residents warned their homes at risk of flooding after pumps fail
8:20am Saturday 28th April 2012 in News
By Mike Laycock, Chief reporter
Staff take precautions at the Lowther
FLOOD warnings were issued to householders living near the River Foss and tributary becks in York as motorists suffered lengthy delays caused by surface flooding on major roads.
The River Foss, Tang Hall Beck and Osbaldwick Beck rose yesterday morning after Thursday’s torrential rain was followed by the failure of four out of the eight pumps at the Foss Flood Barrier.
The Environment Agency warned residents living near the Foss, in streets such as Huntington Road, Haley’s Terrace and Yearsley Crescent, and also people living near the becks, that they were at risk of being flooded. Traffic also had to force its way through floodwater about nine inches deep in Huntington Road at one stage.
David Guthrie, of Yearsley Crescent, said he had received an automatic telephone warning call from the agency telling him that his property was at risk and items should be moved to higher levels.
A spokesman said the alert was issued as a precautionary measure at 9.34am after the pumps – which remove water from the Foss and empty it into the River Ouse – were affected by a technical problem.
He said firefighters attended to help pump water but he did not believe their assistance was needed, and he said water levels fell after the pumps were repaired.
A warning was also issued at the Weir Caravan park, alongside the River Derwent, at Stamford Bridge.
The Ouse in York was expected to peak yesterday evening at 3.75 metres (12 feet 4 inches) above normal summer levels, causing flooding of riverside paths, the staiths and a couple of riverside properties.
The agency said there had been a significant amount of rain in 24 hours, with up to 40mm falling in places.
A brief respite was expected until tomorrow, when heavy rain is once again expected. On the roads, some of the worst problems yesterday happened on the A1237 outer ring road, where standing water almost brought traffic to a standstill.
There were also lengthy delays on the A59 and A19, and in the area around the Monks Cross shopping park.
Comments(38)
voiceofnormalpeople
says...
3:32pm Fri 27 Apr 12
Pete the Brickie
says...
3:46pm Fri 27 Apr 12
roadwars
says...
3:51pm Fri 27 Apr 12
voiceofnormalpeople wrote:A little bit of rain!?
More to the point, how can a little bit of rain cause such mayhem? god help york if it really does decide to rain heavily for weeks at a time. This sort of thing should not happen in a city of this size that needs its roads to stay open. some where bad maintanence has led to this issue.
I must have been followed by my own personal cloud for the last 2 weeks then;-)
Ageing Hippy
says...
4:40pm Fri 27 Apr 12
roskoboskovic wrote:of course it should drain away, into the river, oh wait, the river's full ....ah, its always someones fault with some people.... I blame the Gypsies/cyclists/CYC
shouldn t the rainwater drain away if routine maintenance to the drains etc had been carried out.
/motorists and Teachers.
Oh, apparently its to do wit the amount of rain that fell,revelation!
Guy Fawkes
says...
4:59pm Fri 27 Apr 12
god help york if it really does decide to rain heavily for weeks at a time.
We found out what happens then in November 2000.
Steveuub
says...
5:22pm Fri 27 Apr 12
Years ago we had FOUR dredgers working the Ouse on a regular basis, If the Rivers/Environment Agency got a working dredging contract it would alleviate the flooding problems.
The reason for the rivers silting up is a lack of use, vessels using the river agitate the silt on the river bed, when the silt is `in suspension` it is carried by the flow of the river, in the case of the `upper ouse` between Linton Locks and the weir at Naburn the suspended silt is washed over the weir and carried out to sea,
moeofyork
says...
5:40pm Fri 27 Apr 12
Paul Hepworth
says...
6:46pm Fri 27 Apr 12
moeofyork wrote:Doubtless the kind of idiot driver who deliberately soaks cyclists as well............
Well i came down huntington road today and every car turned around but i was in my van and i seen two tramps with cans of beer so i went through and soaked them and that made me feel lots better !!
Geoffers
says...
6:54pm Fri 27 Apr 12
moeofyork wrote:Stupid boy!
Well i came down huntington road today and every car turned around but i was in my van and i seen two tramps with cans of beer so i went through and soaked them and that made me feel lots better !!
Guy Fawkes
says...
7:17pm Fri 27 Apr 12
Well i came down huntington road today and every car turned around but i was in my van and i seen two tramps with cans of beer so i went through and soaked them and that made me feel lots better !!
Are you the bloke who fried that hamster?
WayneCarr
says...
8:01pm Fri 27 Apr 12
moeofyork wrote:Pity you didn't stall your van and then hopefully they would have turned around and lamped you one. Idiot
Well i came down huntington road today and every car turned around but i was in my van and i seen two tramps with cans of beer so i went through and soaked them and that made me feel lots better !!
Blossom_Racer
says...
8:02pm Fri 27 Apr 12
Ellie-Badger
says...
8:39pm Fri 27 Apr 12
Ageing Hippy
says...
10:09pm Fri 27 Apr 12
moeofyork wrote:Its a pity there aren't more public spirited people in this world like you, clearing the road of flood water AND giving two tramps their yearly bath in one fell swoop!!!
Well i came down huntington road today and every car turned around but i was in my van and i seen two tramps with cans of beer so i went through and soaked them and that made me feel lots better !!
Sir I salute you, Bravo!!!!
GuyWithCommonSense
says...
12:27am Sat 28 Apr 12
moeofyork wrote:http://www.youtube.c
Well i came down huntington road today and every car turned around but i was in my van and i seen two tramps with cans of beer so i went through and soaked them and that made me feel lots better !!
om/watch?v=sZ-w0WVkw
'nuff said
yorkispants
says...
12:33am Sat 28 Apr 12
Eric Style
says...
10:25am Sat 28 Apr 12
moeofyork
says...
10:56am Sat 28 Apr 12
Paul Hepworth wrote:Dam right i do i hate bikes and the idiots that ride them
moeofyork wrote:Doubtless the kind of idiot driver who deliberately soaks cyclists as well............
Well i came down huntington road today and every car turned around but i was in my van and i seen two tramps with cans of beer so i went through and soaked them and that made me feel lots better !!
moeofyork
says...
11:01am Sat 28 Apr 12
WayneCarr wrote:HAHAHA whatever i,m 3rd dan,,, IDIOT !
moeofyork wrote:Pity you didn't stall your van and then hopefully they would have turned around and lamped you one. Idiot
Well i came down huntington road today and every car turned around but i was in my van and i seen two tramps with cans of beer so i went through and soaked them and that made me feel lots better !!
bloodaxe
says...
2:40pm Sat 28 Apr 12
voiceofnormalpeople wrote:The water in the Ouse is dependent upon rainfall in the high catchment areas of upper Nidderdale, Swaledale and Wensleydale. It can be bone dry in York but river levels can still be high because of this factor. In any case it isn't a "little bit of rain" but two inches falling in a very short time following upon two or three weeks of unusually heavy rain. As it is, York has coped remarkably well. Look about you, the rest of England is experiencing similar problems.
More to the point, how can a little bit of rain cause such mayhem? god help york if it really does decide to rain heavily for weeks at a time. This sort of thing should not happen in a city of this size that needs its roads to stay open. some where bad maintanence has led to this issue.
bloodaxe
says...
2:42pm Sat 28 Apr 12
moeofyork wrote:You should see a doctor.
Well i came down huntington road today and every car turned around but i was in my van and i seen two tramps with cans of beer so i went through and soaked them and that made me feel lots better !!
DeeJaiEss
says...
3:56pm Sat 28 Apr 12
No longer do they get cleaned out by the "gulley suckers" that used to come round once every 6 months or so.
Even the fairly new road that links Foss Island Road with Morrisons and James Street is festooned with lakes and lagoons because the drains are blocked.
Not "unable to cope", blocked.
Outside my house, on my side of the road, there are only two drains that are free, the rest are blocked.
Now, surely the council should be utilising these rainy days to travel along the major routes and inspecting the drains and getting the blocked ones unblocked there and then, because what is the point of doing it when its dry?
The alternative is to sue the council once personal property has been damaged thanks to the council's negligence - a very costly solution to a simple problem.
Now, you can't blame the fact that the river being flooded is the reason because a. alot of York's roads are higher than even the highest flood level, b. the river isn't always flooded, the drains are always blocked.
We can always blame the weather for "exceptional events" but what is "exceptional?"
From 1999 to 2011, there have been an average of 9.08 days where half an inch or more of rain has fallen (12.7mm) in that day.
That drops to 0.85 days where an inch (25.4mm) of rain has fallen and only 2 days in the past 12 years where 2 inches (50.8mm)or more has fallen.
So really, not many occasions where the word "exceptional" can be really used.
Any rainwater system should be able to cope with persistent, steady rain - okay, they may get a bit choked up with a deluge but not to the point where roads are not passable.
As history suggests, York rarely gets "deluges" but this exaggerated language gets used as an excuse to avoid the problem, rather than getting the problem resolved.
bex_is_best
says...
10:37pm Sat 28 Apr 12
Steveuub
says...
7:47am Sun 29 Apr 12
That is why there is a wier at Naburn otherwise at low tide there would be no water at all in the Ouse . Walkers dredger REKLAW dredged the ouse for sand as they were Builders Merchants true .The sand used by the glass works was brought in by ROAD, the oil for the furnaces was brought in by the barge JONDOR more often than not.PLEASE take note of the last line of your comment
Woody Mellor
says...
8:52am Sun 29 Apr 12
moeofyork wrote:Hope you crash and die soon.
Well i came down huntington road today and every car turned around but i was in my van and i seen two tramps with cans of beer so i went through and soaked them and that made me feel lots better !!
Woody Mellor
says...
9:00am Sun 29 Apr 12
moeofyork wrote:That's an absolute lie! A 3rd Dan would have years of training/experience to learn respect for all walks of life whatever their predicament whether self inflicted or not. You sir have either bought your way through your gradings through some two bit scam of a martial arts club , or a complete disillusioned liar. I suspect the latter.
WayneCarr wrote:HAHAHA whatever i,m 3rd dan,,, IDIOT !
moeofyork wrote:Pity you didn't stall your van and then hopefully they would have turned around and lamped you one. Idiot
Well i came down huntington road today and every car turned around but i was in my van and i seen two tramps with cans of beer so i went through and soaked them and that made me feel lots better !!
WayneCarr
says...
9:38am Sun 29 Apr 12
moeofyork wrote:WHATEVER ......Still an IDIOT
WayneCarr wrote:HAHAHA whatever i,m 3rd dan,,, IDIOT !
moeofyork wrote:Pity you didn't stall your van and then hopefully they would have turned around and lamped you one. Idiot
Well i came down huntington road today and every car turned around but i was in my van and i seen two tramps with cans of beer so i went through and soaked them and that made me feel lots better !!
Woody Mellor
says...
10:14am Sun 29 Apr 12
moeofyork
says...
10:26am Sun 29 Apr 12
MrChuckles
says...
11:13am Sun 29 Apr 12
Stuart Jones
says...
11:55am Sun 29 Apr 12
moeofyork wrote:Dad?
I'm out today in my van as it raining can not wait to soak people on bikes and anyone else i see !!! ps hope to see the idiots on here hahahh
Guy Fawkes
says...
2:25pm Sun 29 Apr 12
The water in the Ouse is dependent upon rainfall in the high catchment areas of upper Nidderdale, Swaledale and Wensleydale {snip} As it is, York has coped remarkably well. Look about you, the rest of England is experiencing similar problems.
Agreed. Although it was nearly twelve years ago, my memory is that in the last ten days or so, we've had a similar weather pattern (nationally) to that which immediately preceded the November 2000 floods. And although there has been some minor flooding in the usual flashpoints, the bottom line is that we haven't had a repeat performance. My impression, driving past it, is that the playing field/floodplain just north of Clifton Bridge is doing what is was designed to in terms of keeping the excess water out of the city centre.
Vinnielou
says...
3:10pm Sun 29 Apr 12
postie28
says...
3:43pm Sun 29 Apr 12
moeofyork wrote:well i was aiding a blind person across a road last wednesday when a van driver deliberatley swerved into standing water to soak us both . had a great big grin on his face as well. hope he was proud of himself.
Well i came down huntington road today and every car turned around but i was in my van and i seen two tramps with cans of beer so i went through and soaked them and that made me feel lots better !!
uhtred
says...
4:08pm Sun 29 Apr 12
!!!!!! a few exclamation marks should do the trick.
uhtred
says...
9:41am Mon 30 Apr 12
uhtred wrote:my god it worked!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
stop raining!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!! a few exclamation marks should do the trick.
dogcapp
says...
11:00am Wed 2 May 12
Well i came down huntington road today and every car turned around but i was in my van and i seen two tramps with cans of beer so i went through and soaked them and that made me feel lots better !! Why did you soak two cans of beer. I would have gone for the tramps. Bigger giggle. :{)
roskoboskovic says...
2:59pm Fri 27 Apr 12