Northwich sewer system problems laid bare at council meeting

Cllr Andrew Cooper, who along with Cllr Sam Naylor, sits on the group formed off the back of the report into the 2019 floods, explained several options being considered to help stop future floods.

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During the meeting, Cllr Cooper revealed how discussions highlighted just how big the sewer system is in and around Northwich and how all waste water ends up in the same place - the Dock Road pumping station near the town centre.

Cllr Cooper said: "A map that was included in the meeting papers really puts the problem in perspective.

"Essentially if you flush a toilet or if it rains on a highway drain that is connected to the combined sewer network anywhere inside the purple line, the waste water will end in the Dock Road pumping station."

A map highlighting the sewer system in and around Northwich with the purple line referred to by Cllr Cooper

There are many ways of finding a solution to this problem, with Cllr Cooper going on to highlight just four, each of which have the potential to be used in modelling exercises to see what impact they might have on preventing incidents like the January floods, which came about after the deluge of heavy rain brought by Storm Christoph.

The four potential options that might be highlighted for the modelling are:

1. Increasing the capacity at Dock Road so it can pump more waste faster;
2. Reduce the amount of water reaching Dock Road by diverting the highway drains somewhere else - into ditches or ponds;
3. Use sumps in the town centre so that if the emergency overflows are river-locked again there's somewhere to put te water;
4. Manage the River Weaver in a different way to proactively drop the levels, e.g. investing in sluice gates.

Cllr Cooper added: "Cheshire West and Chester and the other agencies are commissioning some hydraulic modelling to see which of these ideas, and others, or a combination of them, would have the necessary impact to prevent these incidents from occurring in future.

"This is a very old problem in Northwich, but it's one we're trying our best to tackle."

Cllr Sam Naylor said the meeting had been a success and explained the importance of listening to those in the area with knowledge and how their involvement will help make the process as transparent as possible.

He said: "What we can't escape from, is the fact it's complicated.

"But it's vital that we're open and transparent and people can see that the flood risk management agencies are doing all they can to tackle the issue.

"We're meeting again on June 8 and in advance of that I've been having talks with Dan Cross, who has 40 years of experience working on the Weaver.

"The river used to be always dredged and there are obviously a lot of contributory factors as to why Northwich is getting flooded and they've all got to be taken into consideration.

"But dredging is definitely one of those that needs to be looked at."