Freuchie Flood Action Group

Rain is nothing more than an inconvenience to most people’s plans, but to the residents of Freuchie it is a cause of concern and sleepless nights. The weekend of the 10th/11th January was a wet one, as most people will have no doubt noticed, but the late evening of the 11th into the early hours of the 12th was a period of alarming heavier rainfall.

John A Thomson, Chairman of Freuchie Flood Action Group checked the culvert entrance at Freuchie Mill around 21:30 and was pleased to see the Freuchie Burn waters cascading down the hill were being easily handled by the culvert. However, this all changed after a period of heavier rainfall that lasted a few hours. Upon checking the culvert at 23:15 it was a cause for some concern and resulted in the camera being brought out into the stormy weather to record the sequence of the next few hours. The photograph below shows the high water levels at Freuchie Mill.

Photo: Freuchie Mill culvert at 23:15

By 00:30 the water level had risen to such a high degree that he started to fear another flood event as the spare capacity to handle the burn waters became less and less!

 
Photos: Freuchie Mill culvert at 00:30

When checked at 01:00, the levels were still as high at Freuchie Mill. It was time to check on some of the other watercourses in to see if they were in danger of causing flooding. Both Green Tree Brae and The Feus had spare capacity to cope with the relevant burn and drainage ditch waters, but even these water courses could have caused flooding if the rainfall had turned heavy again.

Photos: Green Tree Brae and The Feus at 01:00

The flow through the culvert pipe under the A92 at the New Inn Roundabout was low in relation to the capacity of water that it is able to handle. Flooding at Freuchie Mill is likely to occur with only margin increases in water volumes up at New Inn. 

Photos: A92 – New Inn culvert at 01:00

Thankfully the heavy rainfall eased over the next few hours and provided enough of a rest bite for the water level to start dropping by 02:45.

Photos: Freuchie Mill culvert at 02:45

The water level of Freuchie Burn was still running high at 09:00 on the 12th, even although there had been little rainfall since the early hours of the morning.

Photos: Freuchie Mill culvert at 09:00

Thanks go again to SEPA for their sharing of the local rainfall data for this period:

Please note: This data has not be fully quality control checked

Table 1: SEPA rainfall data for Newton of Falkland

The data supports the water levels observed and photographed, with the most intense rainfall occurring between 21:00 on the 11th and 00:00 on the 12th. It also shows the rainfall was in no way exceptional based on historical data.

The daily rainfall data, which is taken from 9am to 9am, also makes for interesting reading:

Please note: This data has not be fully quality control checked

Table 2: Daily rainfall for Newton of Falkland

Freuchie Mill was only one heavy downpour away from yet another flood event that could have caused serious property damage. Mother Nature kindly decided to give Freuchie Mill residents a break on this occasion, but she may not be so benevolent next time around.

Time is of the essence to find the solutions required to control the surge waters coming down Freuchie Burn and to put in place effective flood prevention and protection measures to protect the homes and other property at Freuchie Mill. It also shows how the other identified flood risk areas in Freuchie must be investigated and protected as a priority.

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In The Courier on Saturday, Derek Crowe, Senior Manager of Roads & Engineering Services for Fife Council, was quoted as saying:

“In addition, we have been working in partnership with Kingdom Homes who have reinstated the collapsed culvert outlet-garden area affected by the previous flooding.”

Whether Mr Crowe has been misquoted or there has been a miscommunication between Fife Council and Kingdom Housing, the simple fact remains that the reinstatement work has not yet been started. The only work carried out so far was many months ago to ensure the site was safe and secure for residents and other members of the community.

Photos: Freuchie Mill culvert outlet as of 19th January

Perhaps the follow-up article in this week’s Courier will clear up the confusion.

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