Businesses and residents around Ferry Road in Renfrew are cleaning up after water from the River Clyde poured into the area on Saturday night during Storm Boelo. Many are now asking one question: why weren't the town's flood barriers raised?
The North Renfrew Flood Prevention Scheme cost around £10 million and was completed in 2016. It includes a three-metre-high embankment that runs for about a kilometre west from Ferry Road, flood barriers, and a pumping station on Fingal Road that stops tidal surges on the Clyde from pushing the Mill Burn over its banks.
Renfrewshire Council has confirmed the pumping station was working over the weekend, but the flood barriers were not activated.
What the council says
A council spokesperson said: "The available forecast data and information for the severe weather at the weekend, which included the predicted tide levels for the Clyde, did not meet the currently set threshold for activating the flood barriers in Renfrew.
"Unfortunately, the water levels which affected various locations on the estuary, raised significantly above predicted levels resulting in some local flooding.
"We will review the arrangements in place to ensure these procedures reflect the impacts of a changing climate environment."
The barriers were being tested and raised on Monday.
"Knee deep within 15 minutes"
Takeaways, bars, restaurants and a gym near the river were all hit. Maureen Gray works at Ferry Nice Food on Ferry Road, which is run by her daughter. The shop lost its electrics, fridges and stock, and will be shut for days.
"It was very sudden, within 15 to 20 minutes we were knee deep in the water," she said. "It's absolutely terrible the barriers weren't used. We've never actually seen them used before and all that money was spent on it."
She said some businesses had asked for sandbags before the storm but didn't receive them. Because the area is a known flood zone, she said, insurance won't cover their losses. Neighbouring businesses are now rallying round to help each other.
The owners of McGregor's Bar on Meadowside Street said they couldn't even start to assess the damage until the electrics had dried out safely, and that "serious questions" needed answering. Foundry Gym said large parts of its premises were completely flooded, leaving a huge clean-up. Tarun Wadhwa of the Green Gates Indian Restaurant said he had never seen water like it, and hoped to reopen by midweek.
Councillor demands answers
Local councillor Jamie McGuire has written to the council's chief executive. "Millions of pounds have been spent on flood defences, yet residents are now asking why those defences were not used when the council had been informed in advance about the severe weather," he said. "Residents have been unable to leave their homes, while businesses have been forced to close and livelihoods have been put at risk. This is simply not good enough."
Renfrewshire was under an amber wind warning from Saturday night into Sunday. A yellow wind warning covers the area until 9pm tonight (Tuesday).
Were you affected by the flooding in Renfrew? Let us know how the clean-up is going.
Photo: North Renfrew Flood Prevention Scheme (2018), Thomas Nugent, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons