Schemes to help stop flooding in the city
08 March 2018
Construction on a new project, which is one of four around the Den Burn area designed to help save houses and businesses in the neighbourhood and further downstream from being flooded, is starting within a month.
Aberdeen City Council is leading on the flood management and wetlands scheme at the Maidencraig, an area which was affected by flooding yesterday.
The scheme, which has BEGIN European funding from Intereg and a contribution from Bancon Homes, will create a new path between the Maidencraig housing development and Hazlehead which will be a raised path on a safe route to school, reduce the flood risk downstream, and create a new home for nature by forming a wetlands area.
The work includes the creation of a new path, construction of earth banks, relocation and opening-up of the tributary burn to create space for nature, installing new lighting, and replacing the temporary bridge over the Den Burn.
The path will be built on top of an earth bank of up to 2m high and will be about 5m wide, with shallow sloping sides. In order to safeguard properties downstream from flooding, the bank has also been designed to hold water back in storm events to a depth of up to 1m, and this will be achieved by replacing the temporary bridge with a new one and installing a large drainage pipe underneath. This aims to slow the flow of water in the Den Burn, allowing it to temporarily flood across the boggy area of the Den of Maidencraig during storms.
Temporary path routes around the site are to be put in place for you over the course of the works. The tributary burn coming off the hillside at the Lang Stracht is to be moved and opened up to improve the habitat for wildlife.
The Maidencraig project fits in with other similar flood alleviation, path and environmental schemes in the area, and the work stems from computer modelling carried out after the Den Burn flooded in previous years which pinpointed several areas which could be used to capture the extra water and hold it safely.
The other schemes to be build are Summerhill Swale & Miniature Wetland, and Fernielea School Sustainable Drainage (SuDS) Scheme, and a scheme at Stronsay Park was built in 2015, and these are designed to flood and store water during storms to protect properties downstream, and also have environmental improvements. Stronsay Park holds more than 30,000m³ of water, which is the equivalent of 80 swimming pools, and was the first of the schemes around the Den Burn to be constructed.
Aberdeen City Council flooding spokeswoman Councillor Jennifer Stewart: “We’re aware there’s been several areas around the city which have been affecting by flooding, which causes misery and heartache for residents in their homes.
“One of these areas was around the Den Burn, both for local residents and also for people living further downstream. Officers carried out computer modelling and several schemes are now being built which are designed to flood and contain the water.
“It was good to see how well the Stronsay Park scheme worked, and I’m sure people in the area and down stream are very glad their homes weren’t flooded yesterday.
“We hope that these new schemes will reduce the flood risk in Aberdeen, while at the same time provide more access options for the community and improve the local habitat for wildlife.”
Householders who have been affected by flooding are reminded they can apply for a Property Level Protection Funding Grant, where they can get 50% of funding to help protect their property from flooding up to a maximum of £2,500.
More details about the scheme and how to apply can be found at https://www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/services/environment/information-about-flooding/property-level-protection-flood-grant.