Flooding in Elgin!
Discussion
Well, my 'folks' were evacuated from their home in Elgin last night and now residing in a B&B! Just a precautionary measure as the river Lossie burst it's banks. All of the houses were fitted with flood barriers to their front and back doors, but last night the water level was half way up the barrier. Last time they were out of the house for months till the whole area was renovated - but, the kicker is that it was stated by the council if it happened again, all of the houses would be flattened and not re-built. Probably due to the insurance companies saying that they wouldn't provide any further cover if it happened again.
Last time was due to the very poor flood management further up-stream and pitiful Council mismanagement (Elgin/Moray councils make Aberdeen council look like stars). This time can't be sure why the flood yet.
Hopefully the water has receeded and not either made it over the door barriers or come up through the drains.......
Bugger!
Last time was due to the very poor flood management further up-stream and pitiful Council mismanagement (Elgin/Moray councils make Aberdeen council look like stars). This time can't be sure why the flood yet.
Hopefully the water has receeded and not either made it over the door barriers or come up through the drains.......
Bugger!
An absolute bloody disgrace
I am personally not affected by the flooding in Elgin as my home is on higher ground however I have family who have been affected badly at least 3 times and I also know some old folks who basically have now given up- all hope of an honest solution & answer from Moray Council in theit lifetime
These addreses affected have found that their insurance premiums have rocketed if they can get a quote..rumour is that the entire postcode of Elgin will have insurance premiums go higher even though they are not affected...
Yet again another public meeting in 2 weeks time / more waste of money on Consultants / Councillors and MPs staing that they are working on this issue!!!!!! Too much talk not enough action.
Forget the meetings / forget the consultants / forget the councillors / forget the MPs - sack the bloody lot of them - NONE OF THEM LIVE IN THE AFFECTED AREAS DO THEY ?
Get the diggers in and get the protection in place NOW not 10 years.
I dont often rant but the folks of Elgin are getting bloody angry.
PS
I once complained about the 2 weekly collection of bins and got somebody from Moray Council visit me at my home and expalin the environmental reasons why...I did some research on what this person stated to me and it was a load of lies .....
I am personally not affected by the flooding in Elgin as my home is on higher ground however I have family who have been affected badly at least 3 times and I also know some old folks who basically have now given up- all hope of an honest solution & answer from Moray Council in theit lifetime
These addreses affected have found that their insurance premiums have rocketed if they can get a quote..rumour is that the entire postcode of Elgin will have insurance premiums go higher even though they are not affected...
Yet again another public meeting in 2 weeks time / more waste of money on Consultants / Councillors and MPs staing that they are working on this issue!!!!!! Too much talk not enough action.
Forget the meetings / forget the consultants / forget the councillors / forget the MPs - sack the bloody lot of them - NONE OF THEM LIVE IN THE AFFECTED AREAS DO THEY ?
Get the diggers in and get the protection in place NOW not 10 years.
I dont often rant but the folks of Elgin are getting bloody angry.
PS
I once complained about the 2 weekly collection of bins and got somebody from Moray Council visit me at my home and expalin the environmental reasons why...I did some research on what this person stated to me and it was a load of lies .....
12 years ago the first bad recent flood hit, then 7 years ago, how much time and money do they need to get something done!!? They have had survey after survey, spent millions on "consultants" and had teams of people working on this for years but still the river banks are clogged up with debris and bridges allowed to back up, basic measures which should have been done in the meantime, disgraceful!!
My late mother was out for 6 months both previous times as were many, and the unfortunate thing is that the areas worst affected tend to have a lot of low income families where insurance is a considerable budget hit, I feel sorry for all those affected,
Gary
My late mother was out for 6 months both previous times as were many, and the unfortunate thing is that the areas worst affected tend to have a lot of low income families where insurance is a considerable budget hit, I feel sorry for all those affected,
Gary
When you see these bloody Councillors & MPs on TV attempting to be sympathetic & helpful I want to be sick - if they personally lived in that area it would have been a done deal years ago .
A very quick solution that was suggested years ago was to dredge the river Lossie at strategic points to allow the river to be able to cope with more volumes of water however our hippy tree hugging friends acoss at SEPA threw their arms up in horror at this would disturb the poor wee tadpoles !!!!!!!!!!
SEPA gave the fish life a higher priority than the citizens of Elgin - that is the type of people & mind set that is 'managing' and taking decisions on this flood prevention project - ITS PATHETIC,
I beleive that some Businesses and householders in Moray affected by these floods will withold payment of rates - hit Moray Council where it hurts
A very quick solution that was suggested years ago was to dredge the river Lossie at strategic points to allow the river to be able to cope with more volumes of water however our hippy tree hugging friends acoss at SEPA threw their arms up in horror at this would disturb the poor wee tadpoles !!!!!!!!!!
SEPA gave the fish life a higher priority than the citizens of Elgin - that is the type of people & mind set that is 'managing' and taking decisions on this flood prevention project - ITS PATHETIC,
I beleive that some Businesses and householders in Moray affected by these floods will withold payment of rates - hit Moray Council where it hurts
Another issue is that many people couldn't get contents insurance after last flood so are up s
t creek! The council said last time that if there was substantial foundation damage to houses next time they would flatten the area and stop any other buildings there...... Oi, 
Sort out the bloody river!
6 to 9 months they've been told now.
t creek! The council said last time that if there was substantial foundation damage to houses next time they would flatten the area and stop any other buildings there...... Oi, Sort out the bloody river!6 to 9 months they've been told now.
Talk about resurrecting an old thread however I have family who have an interest in the area and im curious to know how things have changed if anything with regards to the flooding issue?
Is this now being managed well or just something everyone has started to put up with. Having done some research it looked like millions has been spent to fix the issue and I am struggling to see anything significant events over the last 7 years or so.
Is this now being managed well or just something everyone has started to put up with. Having done some research it looked like millions has been spent to fix the issue and I am struggling to see anything significant events over the last 7 years or so.
Better off giving us addresses they are looking at and some of us can tell you if the streets have been particularly affected
My whole family have moved away now but as recently as 2 years ago my Dad worked at the mill (Johnstons of Elgin) and although the water got very high I don't think it breached the defences in recent years which would suggest that some of the defences around that part of town have been doing their job.
My whole family have moved away now but as recently as 2 years ago my Dad worked at the mill (Johnstons of Elgin) and although the water got very high I don't think it breached the defences in recent years which would suggest that some of the defences around that part of town have been doing their job.
The st load of money spent by the Council (which now appears to be bankrupt, albeit not because of that I don't think) does seem to have worked at least in the medium term - no incidents for quite a while.
That said, I don't think there has since been general area rainfall/flooding quite as bad as the incidents that caused the flooding back then.
Moray has had historical "great floods" due to it's geography so it will no doubt happen again sometime and we will see how the defences hold up - I don't think they have been severely tested since built though.
Johnstons was always badly affected simply because it was practically at the same level as the Lossie (as you might expect for a "mill") - AIUI their own defences were set up before the town's ones because of this.
There has been enormous growth in housing in the area over the past 10 years, and you have to wonder what impact that will have on run-off etc if there is another "big one".
As above it depends where you are - the town centre itself is higher up, as is most of the older/more expensive housing and absolutely fine - if you are well away from/above the Lossie, railway line, Edgar Road you are OK.
t load of money spent by the Council (which now appears to be bankrupt, albeit not because of that I don't think) does seem to have worked at least in the medium term - no incidents for quite a while.That said, I don't think there has since been general area rainfall/flooding quite as bad as the incidents that caused the flooding back then.
Moray has had historical "great floods" due to it's geography so it will no doubt happen again sometime and we will see how the defences hold up - I don't think they have been severely tested since built though.
Johnstons was always badly affected simply because it was practically at the same level as the Lossie (as you might expect for a "mill") - AIUI their own defences were set up before the town's ones because of this.
There has been enormous growth in housing in the area over the past 10 years, and you have to wonder what impact that will have on run-off etc if there is another "big one".
As above it depends where you are - the town centre itself is higher up, as is most of the older/more expensive housing and absolutely fine - if you are well away from/above the Lossie, railway line, Edgar Road you are OK.
Chamon_Lee said:
Talk about resurrecting an old thread however I have family who have an interest in the area and im curious to know how things have changed if anything with regards to the flooding issue?
Is this now being managed well or just something everyone has started to put up with. Having done some research it looked like millions has been spent to fix the issue and I am struggling to see anything significant events over the last 7 years or so.
I'd suggest checking out https://map.sepa.org.uk/floodmaps too.Is this now being managed well or just something everyone has started to put up with. Having done some research it looked like millions has been spent to fix the issue and I am struggling to see anything significant events over the last 7 years or so.
I worked at the floods back in Elgin about 2003. Unbelievable the amount of water and how it rose so quick. Since the flood alleviation works there has not been any significant flooding and certainly nothing like 2003. Maisondieu Road, Station Road is always one of the first to flood now, the drains there cannot cope with any quantity of water.
Rockape said:
I worked at the floods back in Elgin about 2003. Unbelievable the amount of water and how it rose so quick. Since the flood alleviation works there has not been any significant flooding and certainly nothing like 2003. Maisondieu Road, Station Road is always one of the first to flood now, the drains there cannot cope with any quantity of water.
There's a large green area to the west side of Lesmurdie Road, just before Deanshaugh Road. Before it was grassed over, there was a lot of unfathomable concrete works going on.Did that have anything to do with the flood alleviation scheme?
StonedRollin said:
I'd suggest checking out https://map.sepa.org.uk/floodmaps too.
Speaking as an ex-SEPA employee in the Strategic Flood Risk Team that managed the production of those maps....I'd urge caution.There are massive simplifications in the modelling schema to allow a nationally consistent approach to be used. So the modelling is the same in D&G as in Elgin as in Edinburgh. They're no good for property level assessment.
You may be able to find the Elgin Scheme modelling outputs online, in which case look at the mapping associated with that project.
Also, guidance, legislation and climate change standards have all changed significantly. I've not looked at that Scheme, as I'm no longer with SEPA, but check the Standard of Protection as it's not always the same from one Scheme to the next.
I would just point out that it makes no sense to me to subsidise grouse moors which accelerate rainfall run off into the Lossie basin.
The whole area is interesting, sea level changes and isostatic uplift, as well as drainage schemes have changed the land substantially.
Look how Lossiemouth is an island above the drained flatlands.
Some of the farmland near us was a loch, which then became peat hags, and is now drained into the Lossie, when a tree blocked one of the main drains it quickly flooded a big area.
One of the 'benefits' of the alleged close relationship between Sturgeon and the owners of a well known local building firm is that the builders don't contribute to drainage or water supply infrastructure, so, of course, it's not improved in line with the housing development.
(As told to me by a long time Scottish Water employee)
Seems rather short sighted in a flood plain!
The whole area is interesting, sea level changes and isostatic uplift, as well as drainage schemes have changed the land substantially.
Look how Lossiemouth is an island above the drained flatlands.
Some of the farmland near us was a loch, which then became peat hags, and is now drained into the Lossie, when a tree blocked one of the main drains it quickly flooded a big area.
One of the 'benefits' of the alleged close relationship between Sturgeon and the owners of a well known local building firm is that the builders don't contribute to drainage or water supply infrastructure, so, of course, it's not improved in line with the housing development.
(As told to me by a long time Scottish Water employee)
Seems rather short sighted in a flood plain!
bigwheel said:
Rockape said:
I worked at the floods back in Elgin about 2003. Unbelievable the amount of water and how it rose so quick. Since the flood alleviation works there has not been any significant flooding and certainly nothing like 2003. Maisondieu Road, Station Road is always one of the first to flood now, the drains there cannot cope with any quantity of water.
There's a large green area to the west side of Lesmurdie Road, just before Deanshaugh Road. Before it was grassed over, there was a lot of unfathomable concrete works going on.Did that have anything to do with the flood alleviation scheme?
There was significant works carried out as part of the flood alleviation scheme just down the road, crossing the river and where Lesmurdie Rd becomes Newmills Rd. They dug out a large section of the park there and demolished the old Kings Mill Inn although I think it was long gone before that happened.
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