Council to Investigate Anti-Flooding Measure for Householders

In response to recent flooding incidents, The Highland Council is to investigate the use of mobile barriers for sealing individual houses.

Councillor Olwyn Macdonald, Chairman of the Council’s Lochaber Area Committee and  Vice-Chairman of the Council’s Housing and Social Work Committee, raised the issue at the Council’s most recent meeting in Inverness when it was decided to set up an inter-service group of Council officials to investigate the feasibility of procuring protection measures for individual Council houses on a pilot basis and consider whether such measures could be offered to adjacent owner occupiers and other properties, such as schools.

Dingwall and Caol, near Fort William, which suffered badly from recent flooding, have been identified as possible pilot schemes, should the initiative prove worth pursuing. 

Councillor Macdonald, said: “Flooding is becoming more and more prevalent in many areas of the Highlands, including Caol. The Council has long term plans to tackle flooding with major schemes. As an early response, I am delighted that the Council is investigating ways of helping our council tenants and other householders.”

Officials will be examining a number of products. According to the manufacturers, these products are suitable for rapid deployment to block doorways and other openings of different dimensions and can be used by a reasonably fit person without any specialist training.

Officials will be identifying a number of issues over the coming weeks, including the effectiveness of the products to protect against flood water; how quickly it can be deployed and by whom; secure storage of the barriers when not in use so that they can be rapidly deployed and how to protect other points where water can enter a building – air bricks, cable and pipe ducts, vents, solum and patio doors.