‘Floodproofing is needed to stop sewage damage’

LONDONERS TOLD INCIDENTS TO BE MORE COMMON

LONDONERS will have to floodproof their homes to stop sewage flooding in, a report has warned.

Extreme rainfall is likely to make sewage flooding more common in the capital and if nothing is done families may once again have their homes coated in excrement and dirty water.

Two months’ worth of rain hit some areas of London within hours, overflowing London’s sewers, last summer, causing thousands of pounds worth of damage to homes.

In just the space of two hours, rainfall flooded parts of west London on July 12. Four hours of heavy rainfall on July 25 caused even more flooding in London and Essex.

In total 1,500 homes were flooded in the two days of rainfall across the capital. The flash flooding caused water to lift up manholes and rise through people’s toilets in 13 London boroughs.

Now, a review of what happened has found that parts of London’s sewers are not fit to deal with extreme rainfall and the city will have to find ways to better deal with sewage spills.

The London Flood Review, led by the Independent Expert Group, has warned similar events may happen more often in the future.

A report said: “Such events are likely to occur more frequently in the future and the various organisations which manage flood risk will need to work collaboratively to ensure that the impacts of flooding are managed appropriately.

It added: “Even if all the recommendations in this report are taken forward by the risk management authorities, there is still potential for large-scale flooding to occur. “It will be how we manage the impact in future that will make the most difference.”

The report also warned London’s sewers are not fit to deal with extreme rainfall and that no matter what measures are taken there is still potential for large-scale flooding.

The report ruled: “It will not be

It will be how we manage the impact in future that will make the most difference.

economical or realistic to contain all flows in every event.

“While the Victorian sewer system for London had ample capacity at the time of its construction, the evolution of the cityscape has had an effect on the ability of the sewerage system to cope with the current flows which drain to it, which has resulted in some areas now not being able to cope with a one-infive-year event.”

Among the ideas to help stop London’s sewers from flooding were regreening areas so there is less surface run-off and introducing bigger pipes across London.

The report also analysed whether the Thames barrier could be used to help control water levels.

However, it ruled that the barrier would not be able to be raised quickly enough to cope with fast rainfall.

SHAHANARA MIAH One west London family lost roughly £30,000 worth of possessions in flooding in July 2021