Freuchie Flood Action Group

Freuchie Community Council

Meeting 7.30 pm Wednesday 10th March 2010

Lumsden Memorial Hall

AGENDA

1. Welcome and Apologies

2. Membership Resignations of J Kenyon and Marilyn Brown

3. Minutes of meeting of 10th February

4. Fife Council Matters – Councillors/Locality Manager

5. Presentations by the youth of Freuchie at 8pm

6. Treasurer’s Report

7. Planning (to be advised at meeting)
— New Applications None to date
— Applications dealt with None to date

8. Correspondence (to be advised at meeting)
— Matters for decision/action
— Matters for noting

9. Other Business
— Multi-use Games Area update
— Flooding in Freuchie update
— Footpath from Green Tree Brae to Dykeside update
    (Technical meeting on Thursday in Cupar)

10. Date of the AGM and next meeting will be at 7.30 pm on Wednesday 14th April 2010 in the Lumsden Memorial Hall.

Technorati Tags: Fife Council, flooding, Freuchie, Freuchie Community Council

Fife Council will shortly be closing the C23 Freuchie Mill Road for the surface water drainage improvement scheme works.

The works are programmed to commence w/c 15/3/10 to 4/4/10 for 4 weeks.

Traffic management measures and diversions will be in force for the duration of the works.

Hopefully people won’t be too inconvenienced while these important works take place.

Technorati Tags: C23, drainage improvement, Fife Council, Freuchie, Freuchie Mill

Meeting 7.30 pm Wednesday 10^th February 2010

Lumsden Memorial Hall

AGENDA

1. Welcome and Apologies

2. Minutes of meeting of 13^th January

3. Fife Council Matters – Councillors/Locality Manager

4. Treasurer’s Report

5. Planning (to be updated at meeting)

1. New Applications None to date
2. Applications dealt with None to date

6. Correspondence (to be advised at meeting)

Matters for decision/action

Matters for noting

7. Other Business

— Multi-use Games Area update

— Flooding in Freuchie update.

— Footpath from Green Tree Brae to Dykeside update

— Invitation of village youth to March meeting

8. Date of next meeting will be at 7.30 pm on Wednesday 10^th March 2010 in the Lumsden Memorial Hall

Technorati Tags: Fife Council, flooding, Freuchie, Freuchie Community Council

At the Freuchie Community Council meeting last night Cllr MacDiarmid announced the intention of Fife Council to bring forward the work required to reduced the flood risk from water running down and off Freuchie Mill Road. It has been indicated that the work will be completed by February / March 2010.

A few weeks ago council officers came onsite to look at the problem and to start the process of looking into possible solutions. We liaised with these officers and offered our local knowledge and some of our ideas for flood prevention measures. Surveyors are onsite today taking measurements for the Freuchie Mill Road Drainage improvement works. Good progress is now being made on this project.

Thank you to our local councillors and Fife Council officers for recognising the urgency and importance of this work and prioritising it accordingly. This small project is going to make a considerable difference to the flooding issue at Freuchie Mill.

Technorati Tags: Cllr MacDiarmid, Fife Council, flood, flooding, Freuchie, Freuchie Community Council, Freuchie Mill

SEPA has issued a Flood Watch for Fife.

FLOOD WATCH

This statement was prepared on 19 November 2009 at 7:03 am.

A FLOOD WATCH has been issued for Fife and Clackmannanshire rivers.

A band of rain will stagnate over Clackmannanshire today with widespread totals of 25 to 40mm at low levels and 50 to 60mm over the higher ground. As the ground is already saturated localised flooding is expected.

This FLOOD WATCH is now in force until further notice.

Please continue to keep an eye on the situation in your area and listen to local radio and television for further information.

The Met Office has also issued an Advisory of Severe or Extreme Weather for Fife that covers today and tomorrow:

There is a moderate risk of severe weather affecting many western parts of Britain. During Thursday very wet and windy conditions are expected at times with widespread rain and gales in places with winds gusting around 60 MPH. Rain will be heavy at times, especially over windward hills and mountains. Rainfall accumulations of 30 to 50mm are expected through the whole period with locally over 80mm mainly across higher ground.

Issued at: 0645 Thu 19 Nov

The weather forecast over the next 36 hours isn’t too good. Ensure you are prepared to deploy flood defences and you have moved all valuables, and anything else you can’t afford to lose, to an upstairs room or attic.

For those of you who been following our Twitter account, you may have noticed Freuchie Mill residents were heading to Cupar to collect sandbags to dam off Freuchie Mill Road and to fully protect the few homes that haven’t yet got flood doors. We got there to discover Fife Council would rather bring them out to us on this occasion.

FFAG committee members have also inspected sites around the village and further afield to ensure we have a handle on potential flooding. You may well have seen us out at 5am touring the village.

We have discovered the water draining off the railway is causing flooding at the chicken farm, water that ultimately ends up at Freuchie Mill.

Technorati Tags: Cupar, FFAG, Fife Council, flood, flooding, Freuchie, Freuchie Flood Action Group, Met Office, SEPA

Fife Council may not be able to supply sandbags during a flood as Fife wide demand may well outstrip supply or they may be so overstretched that they won’t be able to deliver sandbags in time. Even when they are able to deliver sandbags, it may not be enough to make a difference.

From the Emergency Planning with Fife Council FAQ:

Q.  Will the council provide me with sandbags in the event of flooding?

The council encourages householders to be prepared for flooding if they are in known flood area. However, flash flooding is happening more often and all homeowners should be making arrangements to look after their own properties and families. There are companies such as builder’s merchants who can provide you with flood defence products.

In emergencies, the council will provide a range of support measures for the Emergency Services including, where possible, the provision of sandbags.

Sandbags may not keep out all flood water! They will also degrade within 3 – 6 months when exposed to sunlight hence they cannot be used as a permanent flood prevention barrier without additional measures and regular inspection. Disposal of used sandbags is also an environmental pollution issue that necessitates removal to a specially licensed landfill site.

Freuchie property known to be at risk of flooding must be protected by the owner. Other residents who fear for their property may also like to consider assessing the risk and steps necessary to protect their property.

Paul Hendy of the Scottish Flood Forum comments:

My continued stance is each home owner has responsibility to protect their property and this is not necessarily the responsibility of the respective Council.

The homes on the south of the village must be considered as an at risk area following the flooding of Albany Crescent flood last Sunday. Residents in streets downhill of Albany Crescent should think about how future flooding may affect them. Dedicated flood protection products should be installed or deployed if residents wish to stand the best chance of keeping flood water out of their property.

Technorati Tags: Albany Crescent, Fife, Fife Council, flood, flooding, flood prevention, Freuchie, sandbags

With a great deal of effort and more than a little luck Freuchie survived the very heavy rainfall that fell on the East of Scotland on Sunday. The small flood improvement measures we have already made since the 2008 floods, the help of many people from the community to manage flood water, the early assistance of Fife Council and the heroic efforts of Fife Fire & Rescue Service all added up to saving our village from a repeat of the devastating 2008 floods.

Freuchie Flood Action Group is aware of many areas that were being monitored and at least two location where active flood protection and prevention works were being carried out. We would have liked to have been out and about doing more observations but our time was consumed fighting back the flood waters in areas known to be at high risk.

Let’s take a whirlwind tour of these area and highlight the key points.

ALBANY CRESCENT
The run-off from the fields to the south of Albany Crescent was putting the homes in this part of the village at risk of flooding. Only the prompt action of local residents who dug appropriate drainage channels, and then travelled to Cupar to collect and deploy sandbags, ensured that properties – many of them occupied by elderly and vulnerable individuals – survived unscathed despite the 18 inch-deep water in the streets.

Patrick Laughlin, Chairman of Freuchie Community Council, was amongst those helping at this location, and was also out and about during the afternoon observing the nature and sequence of flooding throughout the village. He said afterwards that the day’s events had served to highlight that flooding was an issue which now threatened to affect almost every part of Freuchie. At Albany Crescent, the impromptu dams which were built to divert water away from the most-threatened properties were effective and necessary, but had the side effect of directing the waters down other streets previously felt to be risk-free.

Please contact us if you have photographs of the flood waters in this area of the village.

FREUCHIE DEN
No reports as yet of property flooding up Freuchie Den. Work was carried out last year to reduce the risk of flooding and it would appear to have been successful. 

 
Photos: Farm road to Freuchie Den and bridge downstream 

The information and photographs clearly show an area that still requires further flood prevention work to lessen the existing flood risk.

GREEN TREE BRAE
Alarmingly high water levels were observed further downstream on Freuchie Burn. A usually babbling brook type flow had turned into a torrent that was engulfing land adjacent to the burn banks. Flood alarms installed by residents were activated warning of a danger of flooding.

  Photos: Freuchie Burn at Green Tree Brae

The burn rose to such a height that it would have been flowing over the walkway of the old bridge, had it still be there, putting the homes at the bottom of Green Tree Brae at high risk of flooding. Thankfully the unsafe bridge was removed earlier this year and the gap in the wall bricked up as a flood prevention measure.

FREUCHIE MILL
Last and certainly not least! Freuchie Mill would likely have flooded to property damaging levels if we had seen another hour of rain.  The culvert would have been overtopped by the Millwaters Burn if the rain had not gone off when it did. At its height the burn water was starting to lap onto the top of the gabion baskets. Unfortunately we were too busy fighting the flood to take photographs at that moment!

 
Photos: Freuchie Mill culvert inlet end one hour before peak flows and the diversion pipe that was reinstated

Thankfully our request for the diversion pipe to be used, Fife Council’s work to inspect the pipe along its length and Kingdom Housing’s restoration work have proven to be a life saver on this occasion. The diversion pipe was operating at full bore and really made all the difference during this weather event.

 
Photos: Freuchie Mill culvert outlet one hour before peak flow and during the peak when flooding was starting to occur

On this occasion, the greatest flow of flood water into Freuchie Mill came down from the Chicken Farm and then cascaded down Freuchie Mill Road, joining in with the flood waters already coming down the road. The drainage, or should that be lack of drainage, requires immediate action along with the correction of the incorrect road camber that brings nearly all the run off water down into Freuchie Mill. The flooding on the road resulted in a car parked in one of the Freuchie Mill Road cottages being written off.

Photos: Flooding begins with run off from Freuchie Mill Road 

Fife Fire & Rescue Service arrived at a timely moment to help with the flood protection work. We requested they deploy a pressurised fire hose across Freuchie Mill Road as a damming measure to stem the flow of flood waters. Pumping out operations began swiftly thereafter to keep the water to a very minimal level.

 
Photos: Fife Fire & Rescue Service arrives onsite 

It quickly became apparent the fire hose wouldn’t be enough by itself thus a frantic search began to find materials to dam off the road. A source of rocks and bricks was found allowing the firemen, residents and Andy Walls of Kingdom Housing to start the construction of a two tier dam structure that took the majority of the flood waters down the side of the bridge and into the stream downstream of Freuchie Mill. A big thanks to all the residents from surrounding properties, most of whom weren’t under threat of flooding, but still came out in cold and wet condition to lend a hand – we couldn’t have done it without you. 

 
 
Photos: Dam construction on Freuchie Mill Road

Towards the end of the flood event a few of the private homes in Freuchie Mill started to see the flood waters rising. This was caused by the burn waters that come down through Freuchie Mill House and run underground around the back of the the west side private houses having no where to drain off to and therefore bursting through the back gardens. Most of these houses already had flood protection measures in place  to prevent the majority of the dirty flood water entering the underfloor void. Once again the firemen jumped into action and started to pump out the areas now being flooded. Unfortunately there was damage done by this phase of the flood: holes in gardens, subsidence of driveways and loss of property from garden sheds and bike storage units. The losses will run into hundreds of pounds to repair and replace the flood damaged items, but it could have been so much more!

Photos: Flood water starts to threaten houses in Freuchie Mill

Just as in previous flood events, Fife Fire & Rescue Service personnel were magnificent and we cannot thank them enough for their hard work, professionalism and skill in dealing with the flood waters. Only one fire appliance was required to keep the flood water level at a minimum, although it took additional personnel on the ground to win the day. The Fire Service prevented £500,000 of flood damage with the related loss of four social housing units and eight private homes for six months whilst recovery and restoration work took place.

Fife Council must also be thanked for dispatching sandbags out to us. The personnel manning the operation were working under enormous pressure and unbelievable demands.

The small flood protection measures already taken substantially improved our chances of surviving extreme weather. There are other small measures that can now be taken to make further improvements without substantial capital spend. We will be working to implement these as quickly as possible.

FINAL THOUGHTS
Climatologists and other weather professionals are predicting extreme weather events will be more frequent and intense over the coming years. Every near miss allows us to better understand the flood sequence and the flood protection improvements required to prevent future property damage and threat to life.

Please let us know if you have any photographs of flooding in Freuchie. Likewise get in touch if you know of any area of Freuchie under risk during this event that we aren’t yet aware about. The information we glean from every report and photograph improves our knowledge immensely.

Photos are courtesy of Ross Robertson, Ian Porter and John Thomson.

Technorati Tags: Albany Crescent, climatologists, East of Scotland, Fife, Fife Council, Fife Fire & Rescue Service, flood, flooding, Freuchie, Freuchie Community Council, Freuchie Den, Freuchie Mill, Green Tree Brae, Scotland

Civil engineering contractors Mouchel performed routine inspection on the Freuchie Mill Road bridge this morning. This is performed every two years on behalf of Fife Council. The bridge looks to be in fairly good condition, but then again the engineers who built this bridge knew how to build structures to last many lifetimes!

Technorati Tags: Fife Council, Freuchie, Freuchie Mill, Mouchel

Today’s flooding at Cupar and surrounding areas has been due to blocked trash screens on water courses and the sheer volume of water falling from the sky overwhelming the urban drainage system.

The BBC website is also reporting parts of Perth and Kinross have also been affected by flooding. The news article is here. Milnathort, which has been badly flooded in the past, has once again suffered as the urban drainage system was completely overwhelmed.

Thankfully we have been spared the extremely heavy rainfall that is causing such devastation elsewhere in Scotland today. The story in Freuchie could have been so different if we had seen the same volumes of rainfall! Praise goes to Fife Council who have been around today to check the culvert at Freuchie Mill was clear of obstructions.

Our thoughts do go out to those less fortunate this time around. 

Technorati Tags: Cupar, Fife, Fife Council, flooding, Freuchie, Kinross, Milnathort, Perth

In a welcome development, Fife Council employees will be instructed to carry sandbags in their car boots at all times ready for deployment to flood affected communities.

A Transportation Services spokesman commented:

Fife Council employees are dedicated to serving the citizens of Fife. We learned some very important lessons from last years floods, many of which have fed into our emergency planning strategy. The sandbags initiative is the first of many innovative approaches to dealing with emergency incidents.

This vital initiative will be put in place over the summer months to ensure we have sandbags spread throughout the Kingdom in time for the expected heavy autumn rainfall. No resident of Fife should be any more than 200m away from a sandbag that will be deployed by a Fife Council employee who has been specially trained on sandbag placement techniques.

Freuchie Flood Action Group welcomes this new concept in flood protection.

Technorati Tags: Fife Council, Freuchie Flood Action Group, sandbags