Forres Community Council calls on Scottish Water and Moray Council to take responsibility for surface water drainage before the next flash flood hits the town
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A resident in an area of town that has been repeatedly flooded is again calling on the authorities to act before it happens again.
Forres Community Council member John Innes of South Street has repeatedly reported blocked drains around Orchard Road which have resulted in raw sewage spilling over pathways around homes and into Applegrove Primary School’s playground.
He said: “There’s been no help for us householders - we’re annoyed, frustrated and scared about what’s ahead of us. The drain and gully infrastructure are the authorities’ responsibility. However, we fill sandbags ourselves and distribute them to our neighbours because Moray Council has none in Forres to protect the community. It will only be a matter of time before our houses are overwhelmed.”
Moray Council is responsible for cleaning gullies on roads that are adopted and recorded on its list of public roads.
A council spokesperson said: “The majority of gullies around locations that experienced flash flooding on Sunday, June 10 in Forres are part of our annual cyclic clean programme - they were last cleaned in February. Bank Lane was affected but this road is not adopted, which means it is not maintained by the council, including the gullies.”
John accepts that there is a cycle of maintenance in place for drain cleaning but points out that many are full of weeds and solids.
He said: “I’ve checked them with a garden cane and the sump in the drain is full of all sorts. The drains in the Orchard Road car park look welded in place by dirt and overgrowth. If anyone wants to walk around with me, I’ll point out our concerns and debris left from floods which gets washed into the gullies when flooding.”
The council spokesperson stated that foul drainage is the responsibility of Scottish Water.
A spokesperson for Scottish Water said: “Colleagues from our sewer response team visited locations in Forres where flooding was reported following heavy rainfall last month. Operatives actioned a clean-up where there was evidence of sewage-related debris (SRD), and attended Applegrove Primary School to carry out a clean-up in a cordoned-off area of the playground.
“We also attended other locations including Orchard Road car park, but there was no evidence of SRD present.”
John was grateful to see a Scottish Water van at the school.
He said: “The pathway at the other end of the school playground needs the manhole replaced or repaired as the cement haunching is all broken away. The path is being undermined, hence the area being covered in raw sewage.”
He added: “”I keep hearing their terminology ‘there’s no sewage’. Strange then that it comes up my back drain and all round the house, likewise my neighbours.
“The main drain runs through Orchard Road car park at the back of the Scout hall. The drain lid has been blown off three times and I’ve witnessed sewage water pouring into the car park.”
A Surface Water Management Plan is being developed for Forres and Moray Council has a duty to complete this plan by 2028. Actions to mitigate flooding identified in the plans will be put forward for grant funding in Cycle 3 of the Flood Risk Management Planning Process, running from 2028 to 2034.
A multi-agency event was hosted by the local authority in February for Forres and Findhorn residents to discuss flooding issues and get advice on protecting properties.
Moray Council also worked with the Scottish Flood Forum to enable property surveys to be undertaken on request to identify appropriate property protection products for properties.
“A surface water management plan is still five years away,” said John. “Meanwhile, we’ve had flooding for three years running!
“The authorities are taking the attitude that, because our houses are privately owned, it’s not their responsibility.
“Meanwhile, we still pay our rates!
“There’s no use burying heads in the sand as this problem isn’t going away, it’s only going to get worse.”
