The River Clwyd Chapter 5 Ruthin Floods – The Solution Next Page

The Ruthin Floods. The main flooded areas were Mwrog Street, Borthyn and Mill Street, in the lower parts of Ruthin. (shaded red)

Next Page The Ruthin Floods. Photographs from Denbighshire County Council, Department of Transport and Infrastructure.

There was some very heavy rain that fell for a long period. This caused the river levels to rise. This caused: 1.the River Clwyd to burst its banks on three separate occasions in two weeks. 2.the Mwrog Stream culvert, which takes the water under the road, became blocked. This meant the water ran down the road into the houses. The floods happened because: Next Page Mwrog Stream Mwrog Stream Culvert approximately 600metres of underground tunnel Culvert Entrance Culvert Exit

News Bites from the BBC Click here for next piece of news Sunday 30 October 2000 Storms wreak chaos around Wales People need to be evacuated from their homes as flood waters reached dangerous levels. Monday 6 November 2000 Flooding causes havoc in North Flooding has caused devastation for second time in a week. Ruthin is cut off with several feet of water in the town centre. Roads are unpassable. Thursday 30 November 2000 Flood victims seek urgent action Many local residents are angry at what they see as the council’s generally negative response to the crisis, which left the properties flooded twice in two weeks. They are calling for the culvert under the badly hit Mwrog Street to be replaced. Sunday 20 October 2001 Floods return days after clear up Heavy rain brought renewed flooding to a north Wales town just days after repairs had finished at some properties damaged by last year’s flood water. Residents and businesses in the Borthyn area of Ruthin are once again counting the cost after the rain on Friday night resulted in water gushing out of a culvert and running into Mwrog Street and Denbigh Road Monday 22 October 2001 Criticism over flood damage Denbighshire County Council has been accused by businesses in the town of not acting quickly enough in the past 12 months to avoid repeated flooding. Plans for a £1.5m flood defence scheme to prevent further flooding hitting Mwrog Street and the Borthyn area this winter are not due to be finished until next summer. Eifion Hughes, vice-chairman of a local flood action committee, said: "This is the third flood that has taken place in 12 months. People are just so frustrated that it has happened again.” "People are so angry." About 20 homes and half a dozen businesses were affected and local people say the recent work on the culvert which runs under the street is too little, too late. 'People are frustrated' They also say they had no warning of Friday night's flood. Why were the people so angry and frustrated? What could be done to stop the floods happening in the future? What was the flood defence scheme that the council had chosen? Next Page Back to questions

Next Page What has been done to stop the floods happening in the future? There were 2 problems: 1.The River Clwyd burst its banks. 2.The Mwrog Stream Culvert blocked and overflowed.

Next Page What has been done to stop the floods happening in the future? Raise the banks by building embankments. New embankment New wall Raised bridge Problem 1 – The river bursting its banks. What could be done? Discuss and then click here

Next Page to see argument for each option What has been done to stop the floods happening in the future? Problem 2. The blocked Mwrog Stream culvert. What could be done? Something to help - Even when the culvert wasn’t blocked it was doubtful if it would have been able to take the flow because: 1.it wasn’t big enough 2.when the River Clwyd rose it backed up the culvert and reduced the flow out. Options: 1.Do nothing 2.Do minimum 3.Flood warning 4.Improve existing culvert 5.Renew the culvert 6.Replace culvert with open channel 7.Build a lake to hold the flood water and control the flow out 8.Divert the Mwrog Stream upriver of Ruthin 9.Divert the Mwrog Stream downriver of Ruthin Discuss what you think could be done and then click here to find what the options were.

Next Page What has been done to stop the floods happening in the future? Problem 2. The blocked Mwrog Stream culvert. What could be done? Option 1: Do Nothing For: None Against: Repeated flooding More upset to people and homes Main road closed more often Option 2: Do Minimum For: None Against: Repeated flooding More upset to people and homes Main road closed more often Long term maintenance costs

Next Page What has been done to stop the floods happening in the future? Problem 2. The blocked Mwrog Stream culvert. What could be done? Option 3: Flood Warning For: Relatively low cost Low maintenance Against: Insufficient reaction time Unacceptable to those at risk False alarms – leads to no confidence Doesn’t stop floods Option 4: Improving existing culvert For: Little disruption Against: Minimal increase in protection

Next Page What has been done to stop the floods happening in the future? Problem 2. The blocked Mwrog Stream culvert. What could be done? Option 5: Renew the culvert For: No extra land needed Little ecological effect Against: High cost Disturbs people who live in area Disrupts the traffic Difficult to work while allowing the stream to flow Still limits the flow of flood water

Next Page What has been done to stop the floods happening in the future? Problem 2. The blocked Mwrog Stream culvert. What could be done? Option 6: Replace culvert with open channel For: No extra land needed Little ecological effect Against: High cost Disturbs people who live in area Disrupts the traffic Make road narrower Still limits the flow of flood water Short lengths of culvert needed to go under roads Risk of backflow from River Clwyd

Next Page What has been done to stop the floods happening in the future? Problem 2. The blocked Mwrog Stream culvert. What could be done? Option 7: Build a lake to hold the flood water and control the flow out. For: Could be used for recreation Little disruption in built up areas Against: Small increase in protection May not be able to provide protection during periods of continuous heavy rain Uses a lot of land Has to be treated as a reservoir with linked responsibilities

Next Page What has been done to stop the floods happening in the future? Problem 2. The blocked Mwrog Stream culvert. What could be done? Option 8: Divert the Mwrog stream upriver of Ruthin For: Removes most of the flow from Mwrog Street Provides protection to current standards Against: High cost Disturb people who live in the area Disrupts traffic Still needs the use of culverts Increased risk of blockages Relatively high maintenance Existing culvert Stream diversion Joins River Clwyd

Next Page What has been done to stop the floods happening in the future? Problem 2. The blocked Mwrog Stream culvert. What could be done? Option 9: Divert the Mwrog stream downriver of Ruthin For: Removes flows from housing area Reduces flow in River Clwyd through Ruthin Provides protection to current standards Minimal disruption to traffic Minimal use of culverts Improves existing drainage channels Against: High cost Land take Mwrog Stream Diversion Existing Mwrog Stream culvert © Crown copyright. All rights reserved. Denbighshire County Council © Hawlfraint y Goron. Cedwir pob hawl. Cyngor Sir Ddinbych

Next Page to see the options the council chose What has been done to stop the floods happening in the future? Look at all the arguments for the options again and then do what the council had to do - vote on what you think are the best two options. Back to options

Next Page What has been done to stop the floods happening in the future? The two options chosen were: Option 8: Divert the Mwrog Stream upriver of Ruthin And Option 9: Divert the Mwrog Stream downriver of Ruthin

What has been done to stop the floods happening in the future? BBC News Wednesday, 7 November, 2001 Ruthin flood defence plan unveiled "Consultants acting for the county council have determined that to alleviate the flooding caused by this watercourse it will be necessary to completely divert the stream from its current route in Mwrog Street. "Two alternative routes have been identified and the county council wishes to have the views of the public. BBC News Thursday, 17 January, 2002, 10:19 GMT Flood relief plans for town Plans to protect a north east Wales town from costly flooding problems have been passed by Denbighshire County Councillors. Officers approved the preferred option - expected to cost around £900,000 - which will see water diverted to the north of the town and into the River Clwyd. Over 90% of local people backed the scheme. An alternative plan would have diverted the culvert beneath Mwrog Street - but the majority of local people questioned opposed it. BBC News Thursday, 6 June, 2002 Flood relief plans on target A scheme to protect Ruthin’s residents who have been flooded out of their homes on numerous occasions is on target to start this summer. A council spokesman said: "A second round of negotiations with landowners is now necessary to finalise details and secure formal agreement to access and acquire land for the scheme. "Subject to the successful completion of this process it remains our intention to commence scheme construction in late summer." Diverting the stream to the north of the town would take the stream away from the centre of Ruthin while reducing the flow in the River Clwyd. However, it could result in the loss of farming land and increase the risk of flooding to agricultural areas. BBC News Wednesday, 4 September, 2002 Flood relief plan gets go-ahead A scheme to protect residents in Ruthin who have been flooded out of their homes on numerous occasions has been approved. June Jones, who has lived in Mwrog Street for 14 years, and has been flooded out of her home four times welcomed the council's decision. "It'll mean that we haven't got to jump out of bed all winter wondering if we've been flooded. The town was badly affected by the floods"I couldn't see that they would turn it down, the only problem is it'll take five months to complete." BBC News Monday, 21 October, 2002 Fears rise over flood action 'delay' A north Wales politician has warned of "an explosion of anger" in a Denbighshire town prone to flooding. However, fears have been raised that the project could be delayed and Clwyd West AM Alun Pugh said people are becoming annoyed. The local authority needs to put up part of the drainage system on local landowners property but talks have apparently taken longer than anticipated. BBC News Friday, 24 January, 2003 New defences for flood-hit town Long-awaited flood alleviation work in a north Wales town is due to move a step closer. Denbighshire Council is expected to announce on Friday it has appointed a contractor to carry out the work in Ruthin and that it has set a date to start. The £1m defence scheme has hit delays, angering local residents and politicians. Work was held up after a dispute with landowners. News Bites from the BBC BBC News Saturday, 18 October, 2003 Town protected against floods A flood defence scheme which has cost twice as much as planned comes into operation on Saturday. Ruthin in Denbighshire, north Wales, was one of the worst- affected towns in Wales during the disastrous autumn floods of But the area's local authority is now confident it can prevent such devastating problems happening again - thanks to almost £3m-worth of flood prevention work. Among the most severely-hit parts were Mwrog Street and the Borthyn area of the town. Since 1998, there have been several incidents of flooding resulting from problems with a culvert, which runs from Mwrog Street to the River Clwyd. Residents had to be evacuated three years ago when a culvert beneath the ground was unable to cope with continuous flood water. Denbighshire County Council has since developed a scheme to divert excess water from the River Clwyd away from the town centre. A brook which runs under the street and along farmland to Denbigh Road will be re-directed to join the River Clwyd. Contractual problems with the owners of the farmland which will now carry diverted river water have meant the cost of the scheme has doubled this year from £1.6m to just under £3m. The council pressed ahead with the work, having made a pledge to people living in the town. Many families had seen their homes flooded four times in four years The authority is confident future floods can be averted but many locals will only be convinced once the new system has been tested by the weather. Next Page Back to Questions Click here for next piece of news

Next Page What has been done to stop the floods happening in the future? Click here for slide show of diverted stream Too much water in the stream and it flows down the diversion. The Mwrog stream can also be shut off.

Back to start What has been done to stop the floods happening in the future? The town of Ruthin is now safe from flooding but there are two things to consider: 1.The length of time from the floods to the building of the stream diversion. 2.The three groups of people involved and what their point of view and feelings were before, during and after the diversion was built. Reading the newspaper reports again and taking note of the dates will help with these considerations. What do you think? News bites 2 News bites 1