The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Tay flood defences are no laughing matter
I know I shouldn’t have laughed.
But I couldn’t help but chuckle at the unfortunate episode that saw Dundee’s Riverside Drive deluged.
To (almost) no one’s surprise – the Met Office had been flagging it for at least a week in advance – Storm Ciara barreled into town.
With it came storm-force winds and the type of piercing, horizontal rain that your granny warned you about when you were a bairn.
For a good period at the height of the squall, day was transposed into cold, wet and miserable night.
The Tay frothed white as waves rolled in towards the bank with force, speed and height.
Inevitably the river bank was overtopped.
It happened from Invergowrie to Carnoustie, with the storm even managing to weaken the river wall at Douglas Terrace in Broughty Ferry enough that a hole would eventually open up in the roadway.
But the real action was at Riverside Drive where a new outdoor Olympia appeared as if by magic.
A number of cars parked in the area at the time were swamped as several feet of water accumulated.
The reason for my, admittedly childish, mirth was the manner of the undoing of Dundee’s multi-millionpound new flood protection defences, which run the length of Riverside.
The long and short of it appears to be that someone had forgotten to close the flood gates before the river rose in anger.
Talk about closing the stable door after the horse has bolted.
Cue (presumably) red faces at Dundee City Council and a wonderfully understated response from a spokeswoman who promised a review would be carried out to “find out which procedures have worked and where improvements can be made”. Again, the laughter is rising.
But what is not funny is the debacle led to questions about the validity of spending millions on river defences.
That there was a problem on this occasion does not mean the system is either defective or unnecessary. It isn’t.
It should be remembered that much of the central waterfront we enjoy today was once permanently under water.
The Tay is a powerful beast and proper defences are needed to hold it back.
In Douglas Terrace a new multimillion-pound scheme mirroring the Riverside Drive defences is about to begin construction.
It will inevitably cause disruption for local residents while it is being built.
But, ultimately, it will be money well spent as a real River Tay inundation would be no laughing matter.
Get in touch with your local office at Dundee or send a letter to The Courier at letters@thecourier.co.uk