Environment Agency Wales has completed a programme of major improvement works to upgrade local flood defences. The Agency said that thousands of people in four North Wales villages would now be better protected from floods.

The area around Sandycroft, Queensferry, Pentre and Broughton, including the Airbus site, is unique in Wales because of the complex network of drainage channels, pumping stations and tidal defences which protect it. Large parts of the area – largely reclaimed tidal land - are below the level of high tide and are threatened by both tidal and surface water flooding, where local drains sometimes struggle to cope with very heavy rainfall.

David Edwell, North Wales Manager for Environment Agency Wales, said:

“Environment Agency Wales has been aware of the issues in the area and the need to review and upgrade most parts of the area’s complex flood defence system. We have completed a great deal of work and have more improvements planned. We can not prevent all flooding, but this network is now in excellent condition and provides homes and businesses with a much better level of protection.

“In the coming years, our officers will continue to check the network regularly to make sure everything is working as it should and that any blockages are removed quickly to avoid flooding.”

The project started with a programme to repair and upgrade the area’s tidal defences which protect 928 properties from flooding. This improved the embankments and upgraded a pumping station and two drainage outfalls.

A complete survey of all the area’s drainage ditches in 2008 allowed Environment Agency Wales to increase the capacity of the local drainage system in the most important points – meaning it can carry more water away from properties. CCTV surveys of culverts to find out where repairs were needed were undertaken. CCTV footage showed where underground blockages needed to be cleared, particularly where silt had built up in the system. High-tech telemetry equipment has also been installed to give the Agency early warning to check for blockages in flap valves and trash screens so Agency officers can decide what action to take when water levels rise.

In the last three years, new access routes have been created to allow Agency staff to cut weeds on the sides of the drainage channels. The overgrowth was clogging up the drains, preventing water from flowing away quickly from the area. The Agency has also cleared some of the channels so they can cope with a further metre of water during floods.

Another part of the works involved putting up wider grating at Queensferry pumping station so water can move away from the area more quickly in future. The project also included work on Broughton Brook, Pentre Drain, Sandycroft Drain and Queensferry Drain to repair damage to the tidal flood banks and upgrade pumping stations. During heavy rains last autumn one of the pumping stations pumped 60,000 gallons of water into the Dee estuary in 24 hours. Without the pumping station the water could have backed up and caused flooding.

One of the main problems the Agency faces on an ongoing basis is fly-tipped rubbish blocking up the drainage channels. It has cleared dumper truck tyres, television sets, shopping trolleys and refrigerators from the drains. David Edwell added: “One of the best ways local people can help is by making sure that no rubbish is thrown into these drains. This causes the water to back-up which threatens homes with flooding.”

The Agency is now holding a series of events during the next fortnight where local people can find out about the work. The events will also discuss further plans to help reduce flood risk in the Broughton area.