Fears of repeat floods in George Green when weather turns

A resident of George Green Road near Wexham said they are fearful “a day or two of rain” would see a repeat of last week in which roads were flooded by water and ‘waste’.

PICTURED: A Google Map image of the area of George Green 

They said it was ‘three days before Buckinghamshire Council deployed sandbags’ to residents to ward off floodwater – “but only if you requested them”.

READ MORE: Man ‘told neighbours extension plans would be withdrawn – but they haven't'

They claimed the area has flooded ‘four times in the past year’.

PICTURED: The roads are full of water, making driving very difficult

They said despite drains being dredged on Sunday gutters are still high with floodwater and should another bout of bad weather strike they would be in “the same situation”.

Thames Water said the recent bad weather saw sewers bearing more wastewater than they have capacity for and “the system is full”. It said it sympathises with those affected.

“For the past three days…raw sewage floating past my house,” the resident wrote online on January 30.

“This is the fourth time in one year this road has been flooded yet nothing is being done about this.”

RESIDENT: "A day or two of rain and it will be the same situation"

They added: “We called an out of hours number for Bucks Council and they delivered [sandbags]… but only if you requested them…[and] they could see some houses that did not call were taking on water.

“A few of the drains were dredged on Sunday night, but the water level of the gutters is still at the top. A day or two of rain and it will be the same situation.”

READ MORE: ‘Deep hole’ appears in ‘nightmare’ road after recent bad weather

A spokesperson for Thames Water said: “We understand sewer flooding is unpleasant and disruptive and we sympathise with everyone affected by flooding caused by the recent heavy rainfall.

“The sheer amount of rain over the weekend means our sewers are carrying far more wastewater than they have capacity for and the system is full.

“We work hard to keep sewers clear and flowing well and have a comprehensive maintenance programme which saw a record 900km of sewers cleaned last year, with plans to go even further in the future.

“We’ve also begun trialling the latest sewer monitor technology so we can detect build-ups of cooking fat and wet wipes in our pipes more quickly and help prevent flooding caused by these types of blockages.”

A Transport for Buckinghamshire (TfB) spokesperson added: "Transport for Buckinghamshire is aware of the extensive flooding in George Green. This winter season has seen exceptionally high levels of rainfall and groundwater levels are extremely high, with land surrounding many drainage systems saturated.

"In cases where the highway drainage functions through the use of large underground chambers called ‘soak-aways’ to function, this can result in pooling of water around the drains.

"Unfortunately these conditions appear to be becoming more common than when the systems were first designed and our teams are working hard to maintain and improve drainage systems across the county.  With numerous flooding events after the past few weeks, our priority will always be where there is a threat to property or the situation is making the highway dangerous for users. 

"Members of our crew attended the flooding at George Green on Sunday night (Jan 31) with the gully machine to try and assist with the flooding. The supersucker is programmed to attend George Green Road on the February 23. Any flooding incidents that involve raw sewage need to be reported to the relevant water company."

We’ve launched a new Facebook group for local news junkies, politics fans and everyone who wants to keep up to date with the latest issues affecting George Green Road. Please join the conversation over at Buckinghamshire Politics