Updated: Canvey floods

8:34am Tuesday 27th May 2008

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SEWERS overflowed and roads were flooded as Canvey was hit by heavy rainfall.

The Environment Agency and Anglian Water were overwhelmed with complaints from residents, who in some cases had to put up with raw sewage spilling from roadside drains into their homes and gardens.

Dave Blackwell, leader of Canvey Town Council, said: "The water pumps obviously haven't done their job and it's a disgrace how the drains have been allowed to get clogged up."

Roads affected on the island included Thames Road, Barbara Avenue, Maple Way, Marcos Road, North Avenue, Helden Avenue, Eastern Esplanade and Long Road.

James Robinson, 66, of Marcos Road, said: "It seems like most of Canvey is underwater.

"The road outside my house is flooded and we can't use our toilets because the sewage system is overflowing."

Parts of Westwood, in Hadleigh, and Benfleet, were also flooded.

Ray Howard, county councillor for Canvey, has asked Essex's highways department to clear blockages from drains across Castle Point, using high powered water jets, once the flooding clears.

He said: "I would like to apologise to all the residents affected.

"We have had about a month's rainfall within the space of a few hours and are living through a period of climate change where rainfall is becoming more and more extreme.

"Our drainage infrastructure wasn't built to cope."

A total of £6 million was spent on 14 giant pumps across Canvey, which are supposed to prevent flooding by pumping water from the drains into the neighbouring dykes.

Richard Woollard, spokesman for the Environment Agency, said: "All the pumps have been working fine.

"We have had a phenomenal amount of rainfall and you are bound to have a certain amount of flooding in these conditions."

Kerry O'Brien, spokeswoman for Anglian Water, responsible for local sewers, said: "We have had extreme rainfall and are dealing with any problems with sewage overflowing on a priority basis."

Puppy pulled to safety

A PUPPY was rescued in the nick of time after kennels flooded.

Diesel, a Jack Russell-cross, was standing in six-inch deep water after the ground floor of Gemini Kennels, in Hovefields Avenue, Wickford, was flooded yesterday morning.

The water had reached the tops of his legs and was rising fast, so it was lucky he was spotted by kennel assistant Emma Kauter, 20, who lifted him to safety.

Michael Knight, co-owner of Gemini Kennels, said: "He's only about six weeks old and is such a tiny little fella.

"The water ended up getting a lot deeper and would have been above his head.

"I don't think he would have been able to swim, so it's a relief Emma came to the rescue as he could have drowned. She kept hold of him for several minutes afterwards, to warm him up and calm him down.

"He had a nasty shock, but luckily he's ok."

All 14 dogs staying on the site were safely evacuated.

Mr Knight said: "The water comes flowing down the slope from the A127 and runs in a kind of river into Hovefields Avenue.

"This time there was so much water it got inside.

"It caused about £600 damage to the rooms, which will probably have to be redecorated, but the most important thing is that all the dogs are ok."

Anger at health hazard

TRADERS on an industrial estate were disgusted to find sewage floating around their yard after it flooded during the heavy rainfall.

The yard, at the Brookside Centre industrial units on the Temple Farm Industrial Estate, Southend, was covered by about a foot of water.

Roger Weekley, 47, who runs AJV Engineering, said: "It's a major health hazard here and there's a foul smell.

"The flooding got progressively worse on Monday and is affecting lots of businesses down here.

"The water started to seep into some of the workplaces and trading had to be abandoned."

There were about seven traders operating in the Brookside Centre yesterday morning, close to Southend Rugby Club, and they suspect the sewage leaked from a nearby sewage farm.

Mr Weekley added: "Anglian Water didn't bother turning up.

"They've been notified about this flooding problem on several occasions, but they always just turn up afterwards to clear it up, which is no good.

"I can't run my business from here.

"It's costing us all money for the damage and is keeping trade away. It's getting beyond a joke now."

Though flooding is common in the yard, some traders said it was the worst they had seen for about ten years.

Anglian Water spokeswoman Kerry O'Brien said the company was due to assess the situation at the Brookside Centre late yesterday afternoon.

She said: "We apologise for any delay in coming, but we are very stretched at the moment and will do everything we can to help.

"Because of the sheer flow of water going through the waste and water system at the moment, the drains are struggling to cope.

"It would be pointless to clean up today because more rain is on the way tonight, so we'll probably do it in the dry weather today."