At a meeting on the 1st March Councillors heard that Swansea as the Lead Local Flood Authority had successfully delivered the Flood Risk Management Plan for the cycle 2015 to 2021 . They were pleased to hear that partnership working with Natural Resources Wales and Welsh Government was now working very well and is the best that it has ever been.
The Local Flood Risk Scrutiny Panel learnt that work on the Flood Risk Management Plan has progressed to the development of a list of potential risks that have been prioritised with an associated programme of maintenance and works. They heard that the programme of work has been developed based upon conclusions made from both nationally supplied Flood Maps and local knowledge.
Councillors were interested to hear that the flood risk in Swansea is mostly linked to ordinary small watercourses and the entry to culverts and that the Authority has given priority to examining these critical watercourses in terms of the degree of flood risk and consequences of flooding.
The Panel were pleased to hear that the Authority currently has a regular maintenance programme of inspecting and clearing grids on watercourses and highway culverts under council ownership. Each is classified as a Red, High or Low priority location and that inspections are carried out prior to or during adverse weather conditions.
Councillor found that over the course of the six year programme the 80 issues prioritised will be looked at, some hotspots will require then regular maintenance while others will need assessing for alternative options or works. They also heard that there is a programme for gullies that involves cleaning/emptying gullies once every three years.
The Panel wanted to find out more about how we inform the public and councillors about works that are on the plan and more general information about flood risk. We heard that there is a leaflet that is available on the Councils website that gives information about who to contact etc. but that it is in need of updating. The Cabinet Member for Environment and Transportation agreed to arrange for the leaflet to be reviewed, updated and made available in council public buildings as well as on the website. It will also include some more information about what the public can do for themselves to help protect their properties from flooding especially in areas of potential flood risk.
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