Conwy Valley flood defences in Llanrwst officially opened

Nov 4 2010 by Samantha Castle, North Wales Weekly News

Jane Davidson at Llanrwst

ENVIRONMENT minister Jane Davidson received a damp but warm welcome last Thursday when she opened the Conwy Valley flood defence scheme in Llanrwst.

The minister braved driving rain at the Gower bridge site to unveil a mounted sign detailing the flood defence works which now protect 96 properties in Llanrwst and Trefriw from flooding.

The scheme, funded by the Assembly Government and European Regional Development Fund, cost around £7m and has been constructed to take advantage of the natural flood plain to protect homes and businesses.

She said: “I am delighted to be returning to the Conwy Valley to open this flood defence.

“During my trip here last year I was able to see first-hand the need for a flood protection system to protect the community living in this beautiful part of Wales.

“If we are to adapt successfully to climate change, the way we manage our shores and rivers will be critical.

“Projects such as this will do just that and help protect the local area, homes, businesses and jobs.”

David Edwell, area manager for Environment Agency Wales, added: “We want to thank members of the community for their input and cooperation to help make this whole process a success.

“Our officers will be closely monitoring any risk of flooding and will respond to make sure the defences are doing their job protecting these communities.”

Llanrwst mayor Christine Humphries said: “The Environment Agency has said that when we had a similar incident last November with very heavy rain, Llanrwst would have flooded had it not been for the flood defence work they had already undertaken here.

“However, according to the Agency water levels have already been recorded in between Llanrwst and Betws-y-Coed as high as those taken in 2004/05, so they are obviously working which is a good thing.”

Trefriw councillor Emlyn Hughes added: “We have had some tough battles to get finance for these flood defences.

“For villages like Trefriw it will make a great difference. Last November the water was 10 centimetres off the top of the flood defences and the only flooding we experienced was rainwater on the roads. I’m confident that it is going to work.”

The scheme allows flood water to flow over man-made banks onto the natural flood plain of the valley floor. The flood water is stored here and drains away over a few days.

To do this, the flood bank immediately upstream was lowered and a new bank built to protect people in Trefriw.

A number of specialist temporary flood barriers will seal off vulnerable properties in Llanrwst.