Newcastle residents go on full flood alert

Newcastle residents go on full flood alert

29 August 2012 - by David Telford

RESIDENTS at a Newcastle housing development fear their homes could be swamped with flood water this winter.

The Mourne View Road area flooded on Monday morning during heavy rain, with the incident coming just over a month after a similar incident marooned residents in their homes.

Coping with the road outside their homes flooding and sewage bubbling up through manholes and into gardens has become an unfortunate part of life for residents.

They say the drainage infrastructure cannot cope with the volume of water pouring from the sky and believe the construction of new homes in the area over recent years has compounded the flooding problem which is particularly bad at high tide.

Flood water started to rise around 10am on Monday morning but did not reach homes. But residents fear this is exactly what will happen over the winter months.

Mrs. Elizabeth Brady said the majority of residents have been “lucky” as flood water has not yet breached their homes, but she admitted many feel it’s only a matter of time before this happens.

It’s a view shared by her husband Leonard who said every time there’s heavy rain people look outside anxiously to see if the road has started to flood. He said a number of residents have removed gardens and replaced them with tarmac or stones as they are damp for a large portion of the year.

“When the road floods, Northern Ireland Water officials come out and we are provided with sand bags, but there needs to be a permanent solution to this problem which many of us fear is only going to get worse,” continued Mr. Brady.

“The main road has been dug up and filled in again but the problem hasn’t gone away. The drains can’t cope and at high tide flood water can’t get away. The Mourne View Road is just below sea level which does not help our cause when there is torrential rain.”

Mrs. Judi Maguire returned from holiday on Monday to discover the main road outside her home had flooded again and believes NI Water and the Roads Service need to come up with a solution to persistent flooding at Mourne View Road.

“The sight of the main road flooding is becoming all too familiar for us. It is only a matter of time before many homes are swamped and we want this problem addressed. Concerns have been expressed about a pumping station at the bottom of the estate which needs to be operational all the time,” she continued.

“The flooding issue has been highlighted so many times and has been going on for years and years. We have all had enough and want this problem sorted once and for all as it’s starting to have an impact on or house insurance premiums.”

Mrs. Maguire added: “Winter is coming and who knows what lies in store for the residents at Mourne View Road and indeed other parts of Newcastle which suffer from flooding?”