Presentation published 21.06.22.

The Chair welcomed the Drainage Asset Manager to the meeting.

The Drainage Asset Manager reminded Members that a report had been considered at a previous meeting of the Board following a request for an update on KCC drainage and that report had outlined processes for preventing flood risk on the highway; how cleansing was carried out and KCC’s approach to their Capital Investment Programme.  It also provided updates on issues at Whitstable Road, Faversham and The Street, Lynsted and provided a detailed Forward Works Programme.  The Drainage Asset Manager advised that he was present to respond to any queries raised at the previous meeting and also to give a presentation on changes to cleansing of gullies called the Risk Based Approach Cleansing from April 2022 which focused on the following themes: Our New Approach; Dynamic Risk Assessment; New Processes and Risk Assessments; Asset Management; Proactive cleansing programme for April 13,000 drains to be cleansed; Various systems now link all information back into Confirm; and What does these mean for Swale?.

Kent County Councillor Cameron Beart thanked the officer for the positive update and asked when plotting had been completed?  He requested that the presentation be shared with all Members.  The Drainage Asset Manager said that all plotting had been completed in 2022.

Kent County Councillor Mike Baldock noted the amount of biennials and asked how much flexibility there was for any reported items that came forward?  He said that most of the biennials would be on the minor road network, the team would still be cleansing reactively and there was £1.5 m set aside for this.

Councillor Mike Dendor asked whether there was the capability to track an area that was prone to flooding and would that be investigated?  The Drainage Asset Manager said that they would check whether it was an Environment Agency (EA) flood zone and number of enquiries received, and any local factors would be considered and the system allowed this.  He welcomed any feedback from Members about any problem areas they were aware of.

Councillor Julian Saunders thanked the Drainage Team for their work in Whitstable Road, Faversham.  He said that there was still a lot of work to do but residents were assured by progress made.  He asked whether there were good signs that Southern Water (SW) were working effectively in partnership with KCC?  The Drainage Asset Manager said that KCC were part of the joint Pathfinder Group and met with SW Chief Executive and there was a lot of joint working and also work with local groups.

Councillor Monique Bonney asked what oversight did KCC have over contractors?  She also asked what KCC did to stop ponds silting up.  The Drainage Asset Manager said that contractors were supposed to take before and after photos and for high profile jobs KCC did oversee contractor work.  Any work that was deemed unsatisfactory was rejected and they were sent back to correct at cost to them.  With regard to ponds he said that interceptors could be installed to ensure these were cleansed. 

In response to a request from Councillor Alastair Gould, the Drainage Asset Manager agreed to provide a breakdown of how often gullies were cleansed for each road by ward for Members.

Kent County Councillor John Wright thanked the Drainage Team for their work at the Tunstall village pond (known locally as coffin pond).  He asked whether there was anything that could be done to forewarn residents about any late night working?  The Drainage Asset Manager said that he would try to get a programme from the contractors but this would be difficult without knowing the specific roads.

The Chair thanked the Drainage Asset Manager for his presentation.

Resolved:

(1)      That the presentation be noted.