By Isle of Wight Observer
The £5-million flood defences in Ryde, designed to reduce the risk of flooding in the Monktonmead area to a one-in-100-years event, were not fit for purpose even when installed in 2018.
That was the judgement of Ryde residents at Wednesday’s meeting of the Ryde flood group. John O’Flynn, operations manager of the Environment Agency (EA), did not disagree, telling the packed meeting that infrastructure decisions were made based on Treasury guidance taking costs and benefits into account. He also confirmed only two slats of the possible five were installed at the Simeon Street Recreation Ground defences, designed to retain overflowing water from Monktonmead Brook. He told the shocked meeting the decision was made by an EA duty officer based on the mainland, who did not know how much rain was falling, as a rain gauge in Ryde does not transmit ‘live data’ to the agency.
Justifying the decision, he cited fears that properties would be flooded by rainwater anyway, but admitted the agency had no evidence to support the claim. After admitting he did not know how much water would have been contained if the flood barriers had been fully utilised, he was accused of being unprepared for the meeting.
Mr O’Flynn explained that the 83mm of rain which fell overnight on October 25, flooding around 120 properties, was far greater than the forecasts of 16mm to 53mm, and higher than the 81mm average rainfall for October. He added he was “not sure” if the scheme would have prevented the ruinous floods, even had the five slats been utilised, but at the time they “didn’t think” the water would overflow the two slats. After they were installed the contractors travelled to Newport to try to prevent flooding there; by the time they returned to Ryde, it was too late to put in extra slats.
Angry residents complained that the actions of the EA had made the flooding worse than it might have been and asked if any liability was accepted for their losses, he responded that he was “Not admitting fault”. The EA is now commissioning flood modelling by independent consultants, but this will take ‘months’ to complete.
Keith Herbert, of Southern Water, also addressed the meeting, outlining the various responsibilities of different agencies, and stressing the importance of them working together. He encouraged people to report flooding to support “fact based” investment decisions.
Cllr Joe Robertson, chairman of the Isle of Wight Council’s Corporate Scrutiny Committee (CSC), said: “Having attended this meeting I am not convinced the EA know how to operate the £5m Simeon Street Rec flood defences properly. Regardless of how much flood water can be contained in Simeon Recreation Ground, it is better kept there than in people’s homes.
“I have requested the EA and Southern Water to attend the next meeting of the CSC in January to give a report and answer questions. We can then influence the scope and direction of the statutory flood investigations that the council is commissioning so they get to the root of the problems and make robust recommendations that will lead to change.”
Local IW councillor, Karen Lucioni, said: “My main concern is the safety of my residents. The events that unfolded on the morning of October 25 were extremely traumatic for everyone. I was on site all day and saw first-hand the devastation that happened.
“I know of one person who had to be pulled to safety out of a window due to the amount of water pouring into their basement flat. It’s my role now to make sure the flood defence in the Simeon Rec is fit for purpose and the community I serve feels safe. Anyone who needs my support can contact me on karen.lucioni@iow.gov.uk.”
Regardless of which agency is to blame the residents of the area might reflect ruefully on the words of Thérèse Coffey, the Secretary of State for the Environment. She said, in 2018, that the new flood defences would be “protecting more than 300 homes and businesses locally and giving people all-important peace of mind.”