THE inadequate drainage network in Grands Vaux was directly responsible for the area flooding in January – and the problem remained unaddressed ‘for decades’ despite being a known issue, Jersey Water has said.
The utility company’s chief executive officer, Helier Smith, said it was ‘surprising’ that there was no mention of Grands Vaux in the government’s three-year bridging Liquid Waste Strategy, which was published by Infrastructure Minister Tom Binet earlier this year.
However, Deputy Binet said that a separate strategy on surface water was already being worked on with Jersey Water.
The 210-page Liquid Waste Strategy describes potential projects to upgrade the Island’s existing sewerage network, to support population growth and enable construction of thousands of new homes allocated within the Bridging Island Plan.
Writing to Environment, Housing and Infrastructure Scrutiny Panel chair Steve Luce, Mr Smith noted that Grands Vaux residents were forced to evacuate their properties on 17 January as a result of major flooding, adding: ‘The cause of the flooding is directly attributable to the inadequacy of the drainage infrastructure in the area to cope with heavy rainfall events.
‘The constraints of the drainage network in the Grands Vaux valley and consequent risks to flooding have been well understood for decades and yet they remain unaddressed.’
He said: ‘There is no mention of Grands Vaux within the LWS, which is perhaps surprising given the events of 17 January.’
Mr Smith pointed out that there was a section of the strategy acknowledging the increased risk of flooding due to climate change and the need to mitigate increased flood risk, through a planned Catchment Flood Management Plan.
However, he argued that ‘the timing of and source of funding for flood-mitigation projects arising from the proposed flood plan is not clear’.
In a statement, Deputy Binet said: ‘The bridging Liquid Waste Strategy looks solely at the foul sewer network, not surface water.’
He explained that the Infrastructure Department was ‘already working with Jersey Water to jointly review what might be possible in terms of the Grands Vaux area’.
‘There is also going to be a Surface Water Management Plan, which is being drafted now and which Jersey Water is fully aware of,’ he added.
The Scrutiny panel has been reviewing the bridging Liquid Waste Strategy and has invited submissions from stakeholders, as well as the public.
Writing on behalf of the Comité des Connétables, Constable Deidre Mezbourian has welcomed the strategy and its aim to help provide additional homes indicated in the Bridging Island Plan.
But she noted that several parishes were already being affected by the lack of capacity within the existing sewerage network.
She wrote: ‘One such example is the parish of St Ouen where the development of planned firsttime buyer homes and sheltered housing will require an estimated investment of £1m to connect to the mains drains network.
‘Other parishes also have areas of land identified for development in the Bridging Island Plan but, in practice, development is likely to be some years away as the current infrastructure is inadequate.’
