TheFloodPrevention&LandDrainage(Scotland)Act1997 SixthBiennialReport-November2007 ABERDEENSHIRECOUNCIL FLOODING IN ABERDEENSHIRE SIXTHBIENNIALREPORT THEFLOODPREVENTION&LANDDRAINAGE(SCOTLAND)ACT1997 NOVEMBER2007 1 TheFloodPrevention&LandDrainage(Scotland)Act1997 SixthBiennialReport-November2007 2 TheFloodPrevention&LandDrainage(Scotland)Act1997 SixthBiennialReport-November2007 FloodinginAberdeenshire SUMMARYREPORT AsrequiredbytheFloodPrevention&LandDrainage(Scotland)Act1997, AberdeenshireCouncilpublishesareportonfloodingeverytwoyearsto informAberdeenshireResidents.ThelastreportwaspublishedinNovember 2005.This,thesixthBiennialReport,coverstheperiodfromNovember2005 toOctober2007. AllfloodeventsreportedtotheCouncilhavebeeninvestigated.Over85%of thefloodeventsrecordedoverthelasttwoyearswereduetolocallandor roaddrainagesystemsbeingoverwhelmedbytheintensityofrainfall.Inmost cases,improvementactionwasagreedinconjunctionwiththevariousparties involved.Frequently,theresponsibilitylaywithindividuallandownerstocarry outtheseimprovements.Roaddrainageimprovementswhererequiredhave beenincludedinannualroadmaintenanceprogrammes,prioritisedagainst otherdemands.Basicmaintenanceworkhasbeencarriedouton watercourseswheretodosowouldsignificantlyreducethelikelihoodof propertiesbeingflooded.Otherimprovementsareplanned,someonalarge enoughscaletorequireauthorisationbytheScottishGovernment.Aneventin PennaninAugust2007,resultinginevacuationofthevillage,iscurrentlythe subjectofarequesttotheScottishGovernmentforfundingassistance.Full detailsofthisincidentareincludedwithinthereport. Thereportbrieflydetailsallofthefloodingincidentsreportedto AberdeenshireCouncilsinceNovember2005.Thelocationsofflooding tabulatedaredeliberatelyvaguetoavoidunnecessaryconcernandpossible blight.Anymemberofthepublicwhohasalegitimateinterestmaycomeinto theCouncilsOfficeatCarltonHouse,Stonehavenandlookattheflood recordsforanyparticularlocation.Alternatively,bypriorarrangement,some recordscanbemadeavailableforinspectionatanylocalAberdeenshire CouncilOffice.Contactdetailsaregivenattheendofthereport. Apilot“FloodActionNetwork”basedonthewellestablishedNeighbourhood WatchformatwasestablishedinPortElphinstonein2004.Fortunatelyonly oneincidentofflooding(althoughnopropertieswereaffected)hasbeen reportedsince2005,andthereforeithasnotbeenpossibletogaugethe successofthisnetworktoanygreatdegree. Manyoftheopportunitiestocarryoutfloodpreventionworkonriversystems alsoprovideopportunitiesforimprovingnaturalhabitat,waterqualityandbio- diversity,andviceversa.AberdeenshireCouncilisthereforecontinuingto workinpartnershipwithagenciessuchasSEPA,SNH,ScottishWaterand theSalmonFisheryBoards.Inpromotingsustainablefloodalleviation schemesutilisingnaturalfloodplains,AberdeenshireCouncilarealsoworking 3 TheFloodPrevention&LandDrainage(Scotland)Act1997 SixthBiennialReport-November2007 closelywithlandowners.FloodPreventionSchemesonthisbasisarestill beingprogressedinFettercairn,AboyneandTarland. 4 TheFloodPrevention&LandDrainage(Scotland)Act1997 SixthBiennialReport-November2007 ABERDEENSHIRECOUNCIL SIXTHBIENNIALREPORT-NOVEMBER2007 CONTENTS 1. ReasonforReport 2. FloodEventsinAberdeenshirebetweenNovember2005 andOctober2007 3. ActiontakenbyAberdeenshireCouncilundertheFloodPrevention& LandDrainage(Scotland)Act1997sinceNovember2005 4. FurtherActionProposedbyAberdeenshireCouncilunderthe FloodPrevention&LandDrainage(Scotland)Act1997andthe FloodPreventionAct1961 5. Funding 6. ContactPoints 7. Conclusion AppendixA-TableofFloodEventsDocumentedinAberdeenshire. AppendixB-GlossaryofTermsUsedintheText AppendixC-TableofCatchmentAreaswithMainWatercourses,Principal TributariesandSettlements 5 TheFloodPrevention&LandDrainage(Scotland)Act1997 SixthBiennialReport-November2007 6 TheFloodPrevention&LandDrainage(Scotland)Act1997 SixthBiennialReport-November2007 1. ReasonforReport 1.1 ThisreportspecifiesthemeasureswhichAberdeenshireCouncil considertheyrequiretotaketopreventormitigateagainstfloodingon non-agriculturallandwithinAberdeenshire.Thisreportispublishedas requiredbytheFloodPrevention&LandDrainage(Scotland)Act1997. 1.2 Thisreportdetails: (1)allthefloodeventswhichhaveoccurredsincethepublicationofthe FifthBiennialReport; (2)allthemeasureswhichAberdeenshireCouncilhavetakentoprevent ormitigatefloodingsincepublicationoftheFifthBiennialReport; (3)allthefurthermeasureswhichAberdeenshireCouncilproposetotake topreventormitigateflooding. 1.3 Thisreportisbasedonareviewofalltheinformationwhichisavailable toAberdeenshireCouncilatthepresenttimeandproposesactions considerednecessaryarisingfromthatreview.Asitisintended primarilytoinformAberdeenshireResidents,theuseoftechnicalterms hasbeenkepttoaminimum.Nevertheless,technicaltermsare unavoidableinareportwhichisessentiallytechnical.Synonymshave generallybeendefinedwithinthetextwherefirstencountered.Please refertoAppendixBatthebackofthereportforaglossaryofterms usedinthetext. 7 TheFloodPrevention&LandDrainage(Scotland)Act1997 SixthBiennialReport-November2007 2.FloodEventsinAberdeenshirebetween November2005andNovember2007 2.1 Thegeneralweatherpatternoverthetwo-yearperiodcoveredbythis biennialreporthasbeen“drytonormal”.Consequently,heavyrainhas notcausewatercoursestoovertopasfrequentlyduringthereported period2005to2007asduringtheperiodcoveredbytheprevious biennialreport. 2.2 LocalfloodeventsoccurredinAberdeenshireduringtheperiod November2005toOctober2007aretabulatedbyrivercatchmentin AppendixA.SeeAppendixCfordetailsofcommunitylocationsand rivercatchments. 2.3 AlthoughnomajorfluvialfloodeventsoccurredinAberdeenshire duringthereportedperiod,amajorincidentrequiringevacuationof residentsdidoccurinthevillageofPennanontheNorthCoastof Aberdeenshire.ThisiscoveredinmoredetailinSection3.10ofthis report.Ofallthefloodproblemsreported,75%relatedtolandand/or roaddrainageproblems;25%relatedtowatercourses. 2.4 IncidentsoffloodingreportedtoAberdeenshireCouncilwere investigatedandassessed.Thelocationsoffloodingtabulatedare deliberatelyvaguetoavoidunnecessaryconcernandpossibleblight. Anymemberofthepublicwhohasalegitimateinterestmaycomeinto theCouncilsOfficeatCarltonHouse,Stonehavenandlookattheflood recordsforanyparticularlocation.Alternatively,bypriorarrangement, somerecordscanbemadeavailableforinspectionatanylocal AberdeenshireOffice. 2.5 AberdeenshireCouncilhasadoptedaninternalPerformanceIndicator (PI)tomeasurethepercentageoffloodreportswhichareinvestigated within10workingdaysofhavingbeenreported.Sinceinceptionin early2005,thePIforinvestigationoffloodincidentshasconsistently been100%. 8 TheFloodPrevention&LandDrainage(Scotland)Act1997 SixthBiennialReport-November2007 3. ActionTakenbyAberdeenshireCouncil undertheFloodPrevention&LandDrainage(Scotland)Act1997 sinceNovember2005 3.1 AssessmentofWatercourses Thesystematicinspectionandassessmentofwatercourseshascontinued. Mainriverchannelsandprincipaltributarieshaveallbeeninspectedandan interimfloodriskassessmentmade.Ageo-morphologicalassessmentofmost ofthemainrivershasbeencarriedout.Insummary,theoverallprogressto datewiththefirstinspectionandassessmentisapproximately95%complete. Locationsandfeatureswhichwereassessedasbeingtosomedegreelikely tofloodhavebeensubjecttoregularfollow-upinspectionsince. 3.2 DiscussionwithRegulatoryBodies 3.2.1 TheNorthEastFloodLiaison&AppraisalGroup(NESFLAG)isnow wellestablishedastheforumfordiscussionandresolutionofissues relatingtotheimpactofdevelopmentonfloodingandviceversa. 3.2.2 InadditiontodiscussionwithintheFloodAppraisalGroup,theclose workingrelationshipdevelopedbetweenDevelopmentControlOfficers andtheFloodPreventionTeamwithintheCouncilandOfficersof SEPAhascontinued,tomutualadvantage. 3.2.3 Ad-hocliaisonmeetingsareheldwiththeriverfishingcontrolbodiesin Aberdeenshire. 3.2.4 DiscussionwithOfficersofneighbouringcouncilswillcontinuethrough occasionalmeetingstoexchangeinformationandsharebestpractice. 3.3FloodWarning&RiverGauging 3.3.1 AberdeenshireCouncilcontinuestomeasurewatercourselevelsat variouslocationsthroughoutAberdeenshire.Thismonitoringisusedto gatherdataonwatercourseresponsetorainfallevents. 3.3.2 TheexistingSEPAgaugesarelocatedonthemainriverchannelsand someprincipaltributaries.Fundingof£1millionwasannouncedin September2007forSEPAinconjunctionwithlocalauthoritiesto developanewfloodwarningschemefortheNorthEastofScotland. ThiswillcovertheDee,Don,DeveronandNorthEskrivers. 9 TheFloodPrevention&LandDrainage(Scotland)Act1997 SixthBiennialReport-November2007 3.4 TheDeeCatchmentManagementPlan FurthertothedesignationoftheRiverDeeCatchmentasanSAC(Special AreaofConservation),theDeeCatchmentManagementPlanhasbeen preparedoverthepast2yearsandisduetobepublishedon21November thisyear.Furtherinformationonthiscanbefoundat www.theriverdee.org. 3.5WorksofMaintenancebyAberdeenshireCouncil 3.5.1 WorksofMaintenancehavebeencarriedoutinmanylocationswhere todosowouldsignificantlyreducethelikelihoodofflooding.The demandforsuchworksinevitablyexceedstheavailablefunding.A simplesystemofassessingschemesbyapointscoremethodwas devisedsometimeagotoestablishrelativepriorities.Thissystem takesaccountoffloodfrequencyandsocialfactors.Ithasbeen reviewedrecentlyandisconsideredreasonableandworkable. 3.5.2 Wheneverpossible,“softengineering”methodshavebeenutilisedin WorksofMaintenance.Hydraulicandclimaticconditionsoftencontrol themethodswhichmaybeadopted.However,AberdeenshireCouncil proceedsgenerallyonthebasisofapresumptionforsoftengineering methodsunlessconditionsdictateotherwise.Therecentlyintroduced