Yorkshire Water made floods worse

22 Nov 07
Many homes in Hull would have escaped flooding in June if Yorkshire Water had acted on a series of warnings about the poor condition of its pumping stations, an independent report has found.

23 November 2007

Many homes in Hull would have escaped flooding in June if Yorkshire Water had acted on a series of warnings about the poor condition of its pumping stations, an independent report has found.

A review body, commissioned by Hull City Council and chaired by Hull University professor Tom Coulthard, found that more than 20,000 people were affected by the summer's floods, with 6,300 people forced to move to temporary accommodation.

The review found serious problems with Yorkshire Water's drainage pumps, using evidence drawn from the utility firm's own reports over 11 years.

If the company had heeded these reports' recommendations to upgrade the system, 'some properties in Hull would not have flooded', the report said, adding that 'The impacts of the floods in June 2007 would not have been as severe.'

But a Yorkshire Water spokesman said: 'No drainage system in the UK would have coped with the deluge, which is why it is wrong to say that homes would have escaped flooding if we simply had bigger pumps.'

PFnov2007

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