Summer floods & Merton

Whilst Merton has had a lucky escape compared with some parts of the country, nevertheless the floods on Friday have caused various problems in the Borough along with implementation of emergency plans(the first time I've known this to happen). Thankfully the flooding did not cause widespread damage or full implementation of plans but a number of roads were inaccessible due to blocked drains and the Wandle along with the Pylbrook rose to dangerous levels. A large part of the borough also has water restrictions due to contamination at the Cheam treatment plant of Sutton and East Surrey Water which services the Morden area of the Borough, this was only lifted earlier this afternoon.

Clearly lessons need to be learned from the recent flooding though the rainfall that happened on Friday was pretty much unprecedented. It is clear that flood defences in parts of the country will have to be improved further. The drainage system also needs to be improved, I've knows from experience that even minor rainfall causes blocked gullies which leads to flooding. Many were built over sixty years ago, some even in Victorian times and are in need of modernisation though from experience Thames Water are slow to do anything where particular problems exist.

This summer will certainly go down as being remembered for the floods, the damage caused will probably run into billions given the floods last month, hopefully the rain will stop soon but my sympathy lies with all those who've been affected by these floods.