Flood-hit family face Christmas Eve in water-damaged home

Richard Youle, Local Democracy Reporter

After two floods in recent weeks a mother will be camping with her daughters at her water-damaged home on Christmas Eve before heading to a friend’s house the following day.

Claire Gooding’s property in Pontargothi, Carmarthenshire, near the River Cothi was hit by rising water in November and then again this month.

“It was just below my waist in November, then mid-thigh level at the beginning of December,” she said. “I’m 43 and I don’t have a tea towel or iron to my name, let alone a birth certificate.”

She said the most frustrating thing was that in her view it was preventable. Mrs Gooding and others felt more should be done to prevent logs and other debris piling up at Pontargothi bridge, which they said causes the river to rise further during heavy rain and flood nearby properties.

“There’s got to be the rain to provide the volume of water, but had the debris not been there it (the river) wouldn’t have flooded,” said Mrs Gooding. “It was like a beaver dam.”

Some people think the river should be dredged, that shale accumulating under the A40 bridge should be cleared, and fallen trees and landslips further upriver dealt with more effectively.

South Wales Trunk Road Agency (SWTRA) clears bridge debris when it’s safe, and in March this year it unveiled plans to install two large rotating cylinders in the river to steer logs and other material away from the bridge supports so they could float downstream unimpeded. Water level sensors and CCTV cameras were also proposed, and debris would still be cleared when required.

Not everybody’s convinced about the cylindrical debris sweepers, and there are objections. Nine months on and the planning application to Carmarthenshire Council has still not been determined.

Various reports and risk assessments have had to be submitted, and it’s emerged that a separate flood risk activity permit application is being considered by environment body Natural Resources Wales.

The Welsh Government, speaking on behalf of the trunk road agency, said the planning application was progressing and that consultee meetings had recently taken place. A decision date was lined up, it said, for February 12.

Ken Skates, Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales, said: “I know residents will be concerned about the risk of flooding, especially after the recent heavy rainstorms.

“Our colleagues from SWTRA have been clearing debris from under the bridge when it’s safe to do so, usually after storms, and they’ll continue to do so.”

John Davison has lived in Pontargothi all his 54 years and has run The Cresselly Arms by the grade two-listed bridge for the last two-and-a-half. In that time water has got into the pub several times.

Mr Davison has his doubts about the debris sweeper plan given the size of what came downstream. “You’re talking about 50ft trees,” he said.

According to Mr Davison silt and debris used to be cleared from the river itself by a digger. He added it was his understanding that landowners were supposed to maintain riverbanks but that this wasn’t happening. The loss of many trees due to ash dieback disease, he said, hadn’t helped.

Mr Davison said he didn’t think it was the case that rainfall was more intense – something long predicted as a result of a warming atmosphere as warmer air holds more moisture. “I think it’s just down to the debris,” he said.

Heavy rainfall in recent weeks combined with bridge debris has again left him counting the cost at The Cresselly Arms. He’s got a submersible pump but no flood insurance cover. “We don’t even try,” he said. “The flooding has been well-documented.”

Open doors

The tenant landlord said he’d like to start doing food at the pub but reckoned it would only be feasible between March and September given the risk of autumn and winter storms.

He said: “It has greatly affected our takings in the run-up to Christmas.” Mud has had to be cleared and wood panelling next to the toilets taken off. “The locals have been great,” he said. “But you can’t really open your doors to the general public.”

Another Pontargothi resident, Iwan Griffiths, said: “It’s obvious something needs to be done about this. The flooding affects not only the pub but some residents the other side of the river and the road.”

Councillor Mansel Charles, whose Llanegwad ward includes Pontargothi, said he believed rainfall was becoming more torrential and that fallen trees and landslips higher up the River Cothi were problematic. “The situation is deteriorating,” he said. “Any potential methods (to prevent flooding) would be greatly appreciated.”

There are arguments against dredging rivers because aquatic life can be harmed and speeding water can cause flood damage further downstream.

Responsibility 

For flood-sick resident Mrs Gooding, who bought part of the converted former water mill where she lives 16 years ago, something needs to happen. “Nobody wants to take responsibility,” she said.

She said she could recall one flood in her home, in 2018, during the time she’s lived there before the two recent incidents.

She’s now had to dispose of ruined white goods and precious drawings her children had done. And she’s without a boiler.

Insurance was currently unaffordable, she said, and weather warnings a major stress. “I’m back and fore to the river keeping an eye on the debris, and monitoring the river level and watching the weather forecast like a neurotic woman.”

She reckoned six or seven properties were prone to flooding from the river as well as The Cresselly Arms.

Asked what she’d say to the agencies and organisations that could help reduce the risk, she replied: “I would love for them to come out and knock on the door and have a chat. For them to understand at a human level how this affects people.”