Councillor tries tackling flooding in North Watford

North Watford councillor Asif Khan says whenever it rains, huge puddles form at the end of a road off St Albans Road – but attempts to fix the problem have proven to be unsuccessful.

The Labour councillor says he has reported flooding in Regent Street twice in the last five months to Hertfordshire County Council but on both occasions, he has been told it will be around a year before any repairs take place on the blocked drain.

Cllr Khan said: "This is a nonsense policy that they will only come out maybe once a year to sort the blocked drain.

"We’ve got people with prams and in wheelchairs wading through water. Residents approach me in the street ask me about when it will be fixed because there’s flooding all the time."

Cllr Khan took this image of water forming on the road within the last week. He says it has only got worse due to recent levels of rainfall

Council officers visited the site in September and acknowledged that work is necessary, but the next routine visit isn’t scheduled until at least January 2022.

In an email to council officers, Cllr Khan questioned whether this job "could wait another year" to be completed.

Conservative councillor Phil Bibby, responsible for highways and environment at the county council, says a "dig out" at the site is considered "necessary" but says the speed in which issues are dealt with depends on the "severity".

Cllr Bibby said: "I am sorry to learn of the flooding problems here, and fully sympathise with pedestrians in Watford, but Cllr Khan is a member of my highways and environment cabinet panel and, therefore, fully aware of how we deal with drains.

"Apart from our 179,000 drains and gullies having a regular cleansing programme, the way our crews respond to fault reports depends on the seriousness of the problem.

"Urgent safety issues are dealt with almost immediately, and less severe issues are programmed for future maintenance. In this case, a ‘dig out’ is considered necessary, and our contractors are tasked to complete these within 12 months, although they are achieving a turn round of 7.5 months at present."

Cllr Khan pictured at the site in question before the pandemic, with flooding still an issue now

Cllr Khan says the council should be as proactive as it is responding to potholes with flooding, but Cllr Bibby says "regretfully", this would be "too expensive" on the taxpayer.

However, Cllr Bibby says members are being asked this month to approve an additional £10 million budget to tackle underlying problems with drainage systems across Hertfordshire over the next four years.