TEN YEARS AGO Friday February 1, 2013
Water, water everywhere
Plans to create a temporary reservoir at Snipefield Industrial Estate could be revived as the local authority urgently looks at the causes of last week’s flooding.
Argyll and Bute Council on Tuesday instructed specialist teams to look in depth at the problems that caused several roads to be inundated during Friday’s storms, with monitoring equipment to be installed to determine where the water is coming from and where it is going.
But the lead councillor for roads, Campbeltown’s John Semple, is already considering asking the authority to dust off plans drawn up two years ago to cope with “once-in50-years” flooding.
Mr Semple, also deputy leader of the council, said: “It was absolutely horrendous on Friday.
“The initial feeling was it was the intensity of the weather, but I don’t think it’s that straightforward. Until we’ve got proper feedback from the technical officers we’re in a difficult position.
“There was a plan created two years ago to create a temporary reservoir at Millknowe Road in Snipefield Industrial Estate meaning, when there were significant issues, the water could be drained away there.”
Stormy weather caused chaos in Campbeltown as lightning and floods wreaked havoc across the area.
Flooding, up to three feet deep in places, caused roads to be closed as a whole day of rain saturated fields and overwhelmed drainage systems.
Power was out in Machrihanish as a lightning bolt cut power to 247 homes leaving them without electricity until 2.30am. Despite the difficulties, there were no serious road accidents and only a handful of homes suffered minor water damage.
The problems started just after 3pm when water started to pour off fields surrounding Campbeltown with the A83 north of the town quickly becoming hazardous as fields failed to cope with the deluge. Traffic was brought to a standstill in Campbeltown by 3.15pm when the Mill Dam next to Hillside Park was overwhelmed, sending thousands of litres of water cascading onto Millknowe Road and into Mill Street and Lady Mary Row.
Conditions on the B843 towards Machrihanish were treacherous too, with floods up to three feet in depth making passage for all but 4x4 vehicles impossible.