NI Water accepting liability for floods

NI Water accepting liability for floods

24 April 2013

TRADERS left with a massive cleanup bill after Wednesday’s flooding in Downpatrick have been told Northern Ireland Water (NIW) is accepting responsibility.

In a meeting with senior NIW officials and South Down MP Margaret Ritchie on Monday, beleaguered traders on lower Market Street — some of whom have had their premises flooded eight times following heavy rain — were assured loss adjusters would be visiting to assess compensation.

Up to a foot of sewage ridden water meant a number of businesses had to close their doors last Wednesday. The recurring problem at this low-lying part of the town occurred after an electrical problem affected pumps in a nearby pumping station.

Bartley Murphy, of Murphy’s Bar, managed to clear his premises by mid morning with the help of 30 employees who arrived with mops and dehumidifiers.

“I have a funeral here today, I have to open the back bar and try to keep the place open for business,” he said on the morning of the floods. “I have to throw out the fridges as this is a public health issue. We have to be talking tens of thousands of pounds worth of damage.”

Andrew Savage, assistant manager at O2, said they had had to close completely with six inches of flood water ruining expensive fixtures and fittings.

“The floor units had all tripped out, which are meant to be displaying phones,” he said. “Wednesday is normally a very busy day for us. We are an independent O2 store and if we do not have people in through the door we do not make any money.

“A lot of staff stayed on of their own free will to help clear up. We are trying to support our regional areas with a service that is badly needed but today I had concerns for health and safety, for my members of staff.”

Colleen Bailey and Muriel McKee at the Vogue clothes store had to create a makeshift dam out of cardboard boxes to limit the damage when they arrived after 7am.

“When I came in the man next door had driven his van across the centre of the road to try to stop cars driving by, who kept pushing the water in,” said Ms. Bailey. “We had to roll our trousers up to our knees to wade through the sludge, and it was definitely smelly. We had to get our dresses up off the floor so it was quite a rush.”

Noel Traynor, from Traynors Executive Cleaners next door, said the flooding was a “disgrace” but a depressingly familiar scenario. He said he had yet to calculate the cost of the damage involved.

“This has happened eight times over the past 10 to 15 years,” he said. “It is a messy job; this is raw sewage we are dealing with. It is such a massive inconvenience.”

Tracey Quail, of Downpatrick Chamber of Commerce, said it was unacceptable that rate paying traders operating in difficult economic times had to cope with avoidable flooding.

“It is ridiculous,” she said. “The likes of Noel Traynor, for instance, it’s the eighth time for him. They just do not deserve it.”

Following Monday’ meeting with traders and NIW, Miss Ritchie said: “Northern Ireland Water have accepted full responsibility and crucially liability for flooding on Market Street and damage done to businesses. I understand their loss adjusters will be working to determine levels of compensation to those most affected.

“NIW have assured me that the construction of the new multi million pumping facilities behind the Grove shopping centre will greatly reduce the risk of flooding in this area, and it is hoped this work can commence as soon as possible. I have also made representations to the Roads Service to urge for the provision of increased drainage in this area of Market Street.

“This was a very fruitful meeting for traders as it outlined a pathway forward both in terms of compensation and to ensure events of this nature do not happen again.”