FLOODY HELL
Residents fed up mopping up after deluges
Fed-up residents in a Hamilton street are calling for action to be taken on flooding problems.
Locals on Meikle Earnock Road say they have been promised a better drainage system to alleviate issues caused by a new housing development nearby.
But overflowing drains have also caused swamps of excess water in land, leaving a foul smell near houses.
Some residents also complain of dirty water coming through taps every so often.
In addition, they say Meikle Earnock Road has now become a far busier road in recent years due to more houses being built, with little in the way of road safety and traffic calming measures being introduced.
South Lanarkshire Council (SLC) has promised an inspection of the road to address some of the concerns.
Resident Ellison Dunn said: “This has only been happening since the new builds started.
“The floods that are coming from the farm all the way down is blocking the drains, so we’re having a lot of dirty, filthy water.
“The water was undrinkable for a while, but any minute you can go to run a shower or a bath and it can be all dirty again. It’s happening every other day.
“It’s been temperamental for about the past year now.”
Neighbour Sharon Montague added: “The problem is the drainage water. It’s coming through the drains but getting forced into the farmer’s septic tank.
“Prior to all this, the farmer was emptying his septic tank once a year, but sometimes he’s emptying twice in one day.
“It’s not even coping with the pressure of the water that’s coming in and it’s fountaining up through the drains.
“Apart from the drainage system, we now have the overspill from all the traffic coming down from the new houses, and things were supposed to be getting done to help the traffic building on Meikle Earnock Road.”
Sharon is calling for a pedestrian crossing which would give her peace of mind when travelling in her mobility scooter.
The road has become narrower due to excess water on the sides, with little room for pedestrians.
Sharon added: “There’s not one traffic calming measure. One time it took me seven minutes to cross the road on my scooter. And I was once almost hit.
“Everyone round here has made the same complaints.
“Initially they had a lot of problems with construction traffic. They still are, albeit not as much.
“They were leaving debris all over the place and some of the farmers are still getting some of these issues.
“We now have a larger volume of traffic and there was to be a road being redone to bypass that. We just can’t get answers.”
Local farmer Gilbert Hardman, 83, has been one of the worst hit by the flooding and explained: “There’s flooding everywhere. The rainwater is coming in the drain and through my sewage pipe and has burst pipes.
“I’m having to empty my tank twice a day. I’m getting flooded all the time. I can barely get water out because there’s that much in the system and going all the way down the park.
“The stuff out of the septic tank and the other water is not supposed to mix. I don’t know where I go from here.
“The dirty water was coming through the house at one point, that’s where I first noticed it.
“It’s been getting worse since about Christmas time.
“There was flooding in the back garden as well. I’ve tried different things to stop it, but it’s no use. It’s like a river the way the water overspills and floods all the way down the road.
“They need to clean the pipes and stop as much water getting in.”
SLC say the flooding has become worse recently due to heavy rainfall but work is expected to alleviate some of the issues.
Colin Park, Head of Roads and Transportation said: “Recent heavy rainfall has resulted in areas of localised flooding on our road network.
“As part of our work in response to this, an inspection of Meikle Earnock Road will be undertaken and any safety defects will be repaired.
“The planned further housing development will result in a continuation of the upgraded Meikle Earnock Road and will improve the surface-water drainage network locally.”