CCTV survey to be carried out on Thurso drains

HIGHLAND councillor Matthew Reiss has welcomed plans by Bear Scotland to tackle flooding in Thurso town centre.

Following the flooding at the beginning of August – described as the worst in almost 50 years – Councillor Reiss arranged a meeting with Bear Scotland, which has responsibility for the A9 that passes through the centre of the town.

He said: "They have decided they are going to be using CCTV to survey all of the drains in the area to try and understand better what pipes are there and where they go."

The councillor for Thurso and Northwest Caithness met recently with three engineers from Bear and discussed what could be done to prevent further flooding problems.

Streets in Thurso quickly turned into rivers on August 5 as rainwater cascaded down into the centre of town, damaging a number of shops.

Councillor Reiss pointed out that trying to get accurate records of the drainage system was a challenge as responsibility had changed hands a number of times over the years.

He said: "If you go back about 25 years there did actually used to be a big open gulley in that area. Why it was filled in is lost in the mists of time."

Bear engineers have already cleaned out all the drains in Olrig Street and Traill Street and on the A9 next to the Janet Street junction.

Councillor Reiss continued: "The other thing they are going to do is look at the small gulley in the pavement at the junction of Trail Street and the pedestrian precinct – it is getting choked up and it needs to be cleaned more than once a year.

"I have asked them to see if it could be done more often, up to monthly, as it fills up quickly with muck and dirt."

Councillor Reiss said he was pleased overall with how the meeting went and said the engineers had been helpful and sympathetic, adding: "I think they will do the best they can."

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