EMERGENCY services were on standby and sandbags have been used at Grands Vaux as extra precautions are adopted following major flooding in January, when 58 households were evacuated and more than 20 rendered uninhabitable.
As heavy rain and high winds swept the Island, Jersey Water’s chief executive Helier Smith said that they were working with the government’s Infrastructure and Environment team, the Met Office and emergency services to ensure a co-ordinated response, if the need arose.
‘We now have additional early warning systems in place in the Grands Vaux valley that will activate if water levels in the stream rise significantly and there is a risk of flooding. When this happens, our protocol is to alert Infrastructure and Environment and the emergency services as a precautionary measure. The reservoir is currently full and operating as normal. We can assure Islanders that the reservoir being full does not present a flood risk and it is perfectly safe,’ Mr Smith said.
Meanwhile, the government issued a statement confirming that they were monitoring weather conditions, including rainfall intensity, high tides, streamflow levels around the reservoirs, drains, sewage system, and potential flood-prone areas.
‘Our emergency services were on alert and fully prepared to respond to any incidents or requests for assistance, if required. We had communications advice messages prepared regarding flooding and precautionary measures to take but these were not required.
‘Advice was issued via the Police/Fire/Ambulance social media pages for Islanders to take care when travelling yesterday evening, overnight and this morning, and to offer advice regarding the Avenue being closed yesterday [Wednesday] evening at high tide,’ the statement said.
Infrastructure and Environment, with parish staff, have been sweeping the Avenue, clearing roads and drains of fallen debris and vegetation, while on Wednesday afternoon Andium Homes laid sandbags at Grands Vaux.
The recent bad weather has helped fill the Island’s reservoirs, which are 91% full, a healthy position for this time of year, Mr Smith said.
‘By comparison, this time last year levels were at 72% and the five-year average is 80%. Last month, we recorded 97.3ml of rainfall, compared to 0.5ml for the same period in 2022. Our figures show it was the wettest July since 2007 and so far, in the first three days of August, there has been 60%-70% of the month’s average rainfall levels,’ he added.
He asked Islanders planning to visit Jersey Water’s reservoirs or other sites to take extra care and be vigilant the current bad weather.
‘For any reports of localised flooding, Islanders should contact the emergency services in the first instance who are the first response,’ he said.
