Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
Sewers upgrade follows flooding
Sewers in the Craigneuk area are set to be upgraded to reduce the likelihood of future floods.
The forthcoming work follows last month’s severe flooding which saw residents of 16 Airdrie properties having to evacuate.
Fire and rescue crews were called to Holly Street, as well as to nearby Bankhead Place and Luing in neighbouring Petersburn, as homes and streets were deluged.
Now Scottish Water is planning an upgrading project, with preliminary works already planned and more information due to be shared with residents in the coming weeks.
Holly Street and Willow Drive will be closed to traffic for five days from Monday for Scottish Water investigation works, which North Lanarkshire Council say is“to install equipment into manholes to monitor and log water levels [as] part of their investigation works after the recent flooding event”.
A spokesperson for Scottish Water said:“Following investigations carried out on the sewer network in Holly Street, Willow Drive and the surrounding area, we and our alliance partner Amey, Black & Veatch are proposing a sewer upgrade project.
“This is to reduce the risk of sewer flooding in the area. We will be writing to local residents in the coming weeks to inform them of these works and the next steps.”
Local councillor Ian McNeil had called for improvements for residents as he told the Advertiser last month how he had been alerted to the flooding in a 4am phone call.
The Airdrie South representative said: “Holly Street was flooded too and I think the drainage in these areas needs to be looked at – there was certainly an exceptional amount of water and what fell in just a few hours was incredible, but all these areas have flooded before and we don’t want it to happen again.”
Dramatic pictures showed how the streets were deluged in the summer storm, which also saw flooding in premises at Chapelhall industrial estate and on the M8 motorway.
A council spokesperson said after last month’s deluge:“The issues with flooding and a manhole cover, which had been removed, have been reported to Scottish Water.
“We understand they will be continuing to investigate these issues, and we will work with them and elected members to address the flooding.”