‘A recent meeting in Ferryside organised by local members to respond to January's flooding seemed to establish that:
- Bad actors may have contributed to flooding risk or otherwise failed to maintain assets
- A history of engineering and maintenance lapses contributed to the flooding
- No clear plans are in place for responding to a flood incident
- No plans exist for after care of people impacted by flooding
- Despite long standing awareness of risks associated with climate change and biodiversity loss there is no strategic plan for mitigating increased risks
- There is a lack of coordination between agencies responsible for local resilience.
So what actions does the council plan to take to alleviate the impact of floods on the residents of Carmarthenshire?’
Minutes:
‘A recent meeting in Ferryside organised by local members to respond to January's flooding seemed to establish that:-
Bad actors may have contributed to flooding risk or otherwise failed to maintain assets- A history of engineering and maintenance lapses contributed to the flooding
- No clear plans are in place for responding to a flood incident
- No plans exist for after care of people impacted by flooding
- Despite long standing awareness of risks associated with climate change and biodiversity loss there is no strategic plan for mitigating increased risks
- There is a lack of coordination between agencies responsible for local resilience.
So, what actions does the council plan to take to alleviate the impact of floods on the residents of Carmarthenshire?’
Response by Councillor Aled Vaughan Owen – Cabinet Member For Climate Change, Decarbonisation and Sustainability:-
Thank you very much Mr Jenkins for your very important question and timely. Before answering, I would like, on behalf of the Authority, to sympathise with all the residents of the County who have faced a very difficult time over the last few months with flooding and severe weather and also to thank the communities who have pulled together to overcome challenging situations. I would also like to thank the Officers of Carmarthenshire County Council who assisted during that period. Including Councillor Carys Jones in Llansteffan for her tireless work during the floods and also to Councillors Crish Davies and Lewis Davies who have arranged a meeting in Ferryside to discuss the situation there. In fact, there is huge gratitude for your leadership and for organising conversations in the Community. I was not at the meeting in Ferryside to hear the comments, but I can refer to some of the points you have identified as part of the answer.
As I have said on many occasions here in the chamber, humanity is at a critical juncture in its history, mounting evidence from across the world point to us being at the eleventh hour in the fight against the climate and nature breakdown, and the decisions we take or fail to take will have consequences now and for future generations. That is why I feel honoured to be part of this Council who have unanimously voted in favour of declaring two emergencies and demanded that this administration puts climate and nature at the centre of the decisions we take.
Climate Breakdown is not something that is happening to other people in some distant country, here in Wales we are witnessing first hand examples of extreme weather events, particularly flooding, as communities grapples with sea level changes and erratic weather patterns and aging infrastructure that was never designed to deal with what we now are experiencing. Mitigating the worst effects of Climate Breakdown must be a priority, that is why I am proud of our plans on decarbonisation across all departments of this Council, but it is now necessary to start adapting our communities to the climate change that is locked in and quickly hurtling towards us.
Flooding is a complex matter requiring the need for stakeholders at all levels to be proactively involved in preparations, response and recovery. The types of flooding are varied and complex from fluvial, pluvial, tidal and so many more variances. Across Carmarthenshire there are around 12,000 addresses at risk of some kind of flooding.
Strategically, Welsh Government set the direction, objectives and prioritise both capital and revenue funding in response to flood risk, while Natural Resources Wales have the oversight, the general supervision and communication of flood and coastal erosion risk management in Wales. They manage flooding from all main rivers, reservoirs and the sea and manage risk with regards their coastal protection works as a coastal erosion risk management authority.
As a Local Authority we are the lead local flood authority managing flooding from ordinary water courses surface water, groundwater, coastal protection works with also responsibility for highway drainage as the highway Authority. Welsh government then manage the trunk road through the highways drainage on the national trunk. Dwr Cymru have responsibility for managing flooding from their water systems and their sewerage systems. There are a myriad of partners that have key infrastructure and land in different areas of the country. In terms of these stakeholders, there are no statutory duties upon them. Carmarthenshire County Council are in fact the Chair of the West Wales Flood Risk Management Group.
Timely and accurate information is a vital component in managing the operational response to unfolding weather events. The weather in the UK is subject to a very complex and dynamic set of variables, and forecasts are developed to provide the best possible understanding of likely weather conditions. It is, however, important to acknowledge that these are only forecast and actual weather conditions can differ from those expected.
The County Council works closely with a number of agencies to share information and coordinate responses.
The Authority will usually be warned of severe weather impacts in advance by:
· National Flood Forecasting Centre.
· Met Office Civil Contingencies Advisor.
· Natural Resources Wales Flood Warnings.
· Met Office weather alerts (Yellow/Amber/Red Warnings)
· Roadside weather monitoring sites and alert systems within Carmarthenshire and the surrounding area.
Carmarthenshire County Council provides information to our partner agencies and weather forecasters from a series of weather stations strategically placed around the County to provide the best possible representation of local weather conditions. There are currently 13 such dedicated weather stations which provide a wide range of weather data throughout the year including information on road surface temperature, air temperature, humidity, wind and rainfall data plus real-time up to date camera images.
Carmarthenshire County Council have further expectations under the Civil Contingencies Act for preparedness and response to emergencies such as flooding. We are a key partners on the Dyfed Powys Local Resilience Forum, made up of blue light partners such as Dyfed Powys Police, Hywel Dda, Mid and West Wales Fire Authority, Ambulance Service, Natural Resources Wales, Power Distribution Companies and others. This Forum is vital for responding to significant emergencies and ensuring limited resources as co-ordinated appropriately to prepare, mitigate and to respond to what could be life threatening situations. Despite not being a blue light Service, Carmarthenshire County Council are vital partners at this level and provide invaluable expertise and are responsible for a multitude of well-rehearsed plans and procedures for all kinds of scenarios.
One of which is working with nearly 50 community buildings that would become emergency rest centres if called upon. Each one has designated emergency management plans and procedures and well-trained staff to co-ordinate.
The local resilience forum has a designated Risk Register with useful links and templates for understanding the risk faced by a household, a business or a community and opportunities to create your own bespoke plan
We have recently passed our Local Flood Risk Management Strategy which sets the strategic level direction for managing flood risk in the county. This document has been thoroughly scrutinised by colleagues from across the chamber on the Place, Sustainability and Climate Change Scrutiny Committee and will be consulted upon over the coming weeks. I am happy to share with you the links. In addition to this, we will be working within the 7 river basin catchment areas identified in the strategy to co-develop local flood action plans.
A week today, all members of this chamber will be offered training seminar on Local Flood Risk Management and I am confident that members will engage with the work to enable them to become local champions in co-developing the community level plans with all stakeholders. Given the financial pressures facing public sector community-led flood action plans empower local residents to become active participants in mitigating flood risks, promoting resilience, and safeguarding their communities against the impacts of flooding.
So, I hope that gives you an understanding of the work that is involved in flood risks and gives you confidence that there are indeed a whole raft of plans and procedures in place when it comes to preparing, responding for flood incidents or other extreme weather scenarios.
However, that is not to say that more cannot be done. We will continue to work with other partners, lobby for appropriate funding and stress the importance of adapting our communities, mitigating risks and of course support communities at highest risk to become actively involved in co-designing plans to build resilience and the ability to bounce back.
Supplementary Question by Mr David Jenkins:
Do you think that Local Resilience Forums are as about as useful as a fish to a bicycle in the recent events in Ferryside? Because there weren’t much in evidence, but I do welcome the notion of community led Committees that is locally based Committees that can do something. And I would be interested to find out how much resources are likely to be put towards developing those Community based resources, that hopefully would be useful in future events, of which, many are promised.
Response by Councillor Aled Vaughan Owen – Cabinet Member For Climate Change, Decarbonisation and Sustainability:-
Thank you for your question. As I said, society is facing huge challenges when it comes to the climate emergency and also financial pressure with regards to the Westminster Government whilst making a mess up in looking after funding but we have to take steps here in Wales to secure our communities and involve them in the way we organise relevant plans.
Communities possess intimate knowledge about their area's geography, waterways, and historical flooding patterns. This information is invaluable for understanding flood risks and devising effective mitigation strategies. And because each community's flood vulnerabilities and needs are unique, Community-led plans allow for the development of tailored solutions that address specific local challenges and priorities.
We as a lead local flood authority are now undertaking an investigation into the flooding over the Christmas period, which is an ideal time to discuss the potential for community involvement and how that is best supported. When the investigation will conclude, the findings will be shared with all stakeholders.
Only last night, we had a community flood event held in Kidwelly which saw a number of organisations present confirming a strong willingness to collaborate.
As you have witnessed here today, this Authority, like so many others are having to make such difficult financial decisions, but we are blessed with dedicated and conscientious staff working tirelessly to deliver essential services to our residents.
As I mentioned our Local Flood Risk Management Strategy sets out our commitment to co-develop local flood plans which will start over the coming months. It would be great to have local councillors as part of these events, supporting the conversations and identifying the unique roles communities can help in shaping resilience to flooding and other emergencies.
We are constantly looking for funding opportunities to grow the team and this will continue into the next financial year, but we have just committed to further capacity through a coastal adaptation officer that will have a focus on community engagement. As our capital works programme grows, we will be integrating community engagement and community resilience into the plans. Clearly, moving forward the challenges of flood management will not be able to focus on only hard infrastructure but will need to look at nature-based solutions and often in different parts of the catchment. We hope these can be examples of good practice and demonstration opportunities to showcase how we can achieve multiple benefits for communities at risk, health, tourism, climate and nature.
Over the last few months Carmarthenshire County, through the shared prosperity fund have helped fund over 8 million of Climate related projects. It is clear that communities and organisations such as your own at Carmarthen Together recognise the need to mitigate and adapt to climate breakdown. Your shop Sero at Carmarthen may be an excellent location for a flood fair of some kind where visitors could see examples of household level interventions possible.
We are excited to be working with Coleg Sir Gar’s Green 24 project that aims to upskill society on the skills that are needed in a very different future. One of their aims is to redevelop and adapt an existing building on a flood plain at Gelli Aur to showcase how current building stock can be adapted to a world where flooding happens more often.
I would be thrilled to talk to any group that would like to engage with us on community resilience and adaptation.
We need to remember that the journey towards resilience and sustainability is not one that we undertake alone. It is a collective effort, woven with the threads of collaboration, innovation, and community spirit. As a Local Authority, we stand committed to leading the charge, but it is in the strength of our united voice and actions that we will forge a future where our communities thrive amidst the challenges of climate breakdown. So together, l hope we can embrace the opportunity to safeguard our planet, empower our people, and build a legacy of resilience for generations to come.