Perth & Kinross Council has responded to pressure from Alyth Development Trust and appointed consultants to do a detailed study of natural flood management in the burns and waterways around Alyth.
AECOM, one of the world’s leading infrastructure consultancies, will spend the next year surveying the Alyth Burn, the Johnshill Burn and the Doctor’s Burn (along St Ninian’s Road). We all know the big picture of how flooding from these waterways can affect Alyth, but the engineers will be looking at the detail to fully understand how floodwaters build up and move through (or not!) the town.
They will also be assessing the feasibility of different ways in which the flood risk could be managed, looking firstly at natural methods of flood management but also exploring other options.
The Council say they “will engage with the community at suitable points throughout the project”, and that they will shortly be issuing a community questionnaire to allow residents and businesses to record their experiences of flooding.
Alyth’s vulnerability to severe flooding was graphically demonstrated in the devastating flood of 2015, and in several similar though less severe flooding incidents since then. The town was designated an area of serious concern in the Tay Local Flood Risk Management Plan in 2016, which included a recommendation to do a natural flood management study in 2020-21. When nothing had been done by last autumn, ADT and the Alyth Community Support Group wrote to the Council in October to express their concerns and call for urgent action
AECOM are scheduled to produce their report in spring 2023, although this may change as the project develops.
Useful links
How to contact the Council’s Flooding Team: Flood@pkc.gov.uk
PKC Flooding Website: www.pkc.gov.uk/flooding
Flooding Advice and Support: www.pkc.gov.uk/article/14719/Flooding-advice-and-support
Flooding Duties and responsibilities: www.pkc.gov.uk/article/14718/Flooding-duties-and-responsibilities
Flood Warnings: www.pkc.gov.uk/article/14717/Flood-warnings
Flood Protection Products: www.pkc.gov.uk/plp
Flood Risk Management Plans: www.pkc.gov.uk/frmplans
Developer Guidance on Flooding and Drainage: www.pkc.gov.uk/ldp2floodrisk
SEPA: www.sepa.org.uk/environment/water/flooding/
Scottish Water: www.scottishwater.co.uk/Your-Home/Your-Waste-Water