Obscured Street Light in Cedar Road Reported

Now the nights are drawing in, a constituent noticed that some of the street lights in Cedar Road had their light obscured by overgrown trees and shrubs. 

As a result of their reporting this to me, I had a site meeting yesterday with a manager from the Environment Department. It was agreed that the relevant private owners would be contacted by the Council to request that pruning was undertaken so that the street lights could more effectively illuminate the road and pavement.

Flooding Again at Junction of Cedar Road and Forthill Road

Early evening yesterday, after a squally rain shower, there was once again flooding at the bottom of Cedar Road close to the junction with Forthill Road. I was on my way home from a social event and stopped to record what I could see.

As you can see from the video, liquid is pouring up out of the drains. Less obvious is that with the rain water run off in the drains there is also unpleasant and unhealthy household sewage which is also being flushed out of the drains onto the roadway and pavement. On the basis of previous flooding episodes at this location, it is most likely that when the waters subside, there will be sewage residues on the road and pavement.

I have informed Scottish Water and the City Engineers.

Now that the Council and other regional partners has a Flood Risk Plan, and an area such as this which is frequently subject to flooding shouldn't be ignored any longer. I hope that the drainage system will be enhanced to cope with current and future peak flows of domestic sewage and waste water as well as the rain water run off from Cedar Road and Forthill Road. 

More immediately, I have asked Scottish Water to clean up the area and remove sewage residues from the road and pavement once the flood waters have drained.

Cedar Road and Forthill Road Flooding

Unfortunately flooding at the junction of Forthill Road and Cedar Road in Broughty Ferry happens around a dozen times a year. In addition to the hazard the flood creates, especially for pedestrians, the murky water contains an unhealthy mixture of sewage and rainwater. When the water level eventually subsides, there is a disgusting residue of sewage on the ground. I have received complaints on behalf of the owners of properties in Cedar Road and Seafield Lane. These include penetrating damp into the stonework of a house built into a boundary wall, water damage to a driveway and sewage residues deposited on garden ground as well as the unpleasant experience of travelling up and down a polluted roadway and footpaths.

While Scottish Water organize a clean up of the mess when notified, they explain that they have no current plans to increase the capacity of the drainage system to cope with heavy downpours. They repeatedly say that their current investment plans focus on other priorities which are set by Ministers in the Scottish Government. I think it's time that Shona Robison, our MSP for Dundee City East and a Minister in that Scottish Government, used her influence to get these investment plans modified. There must be many other locations in other parts of the city and elsewhere which have similar problems that need some investment to sort them out. Until then, with climate change, flooding incidents at this junction will be more numerous. I think it's unacceptable that residents have to put up with an inadequate drainage system.

Meeting with Scottish Water

On Tuesday morning, I took advantage of Scottish Water running a surgery for Councillors in the City Chambers. I met Steve Scott, the Regional Community Manager, who is based at the Invergowrie Offices of Scottish Water.

I reviewed with Steve Scott, the two major issues which have been raised by constituents; namely the recurrent flooding at Cedar Road and the periodic leaking of the sewerage pipes under the stony beach close to the Western end of Douglas Terrace.

It was good to meet Steve face-to-face and the discuss these two issues and what potential there was to resolve them with the support of Scottish Water, SEPA and City Council. Steve will be sending me further documentation when he returns to the office.

Cedar Road Flooding Demonstrates That Ferry Drains Can't Cope Again

After the heavy rain yesterday (Friday 12 October), Cedar Road in the Ferry has been flooded again at its junction with Forthill Road.

This was brought to my attention by Community Councillor David Hewick, who passed on his photographs and observations to me.

He is concerned not only about the temporary inconvenience of large pools of water obstructing the roads and pathways but also the unhealthy side-effects. More specifically, he is rightly concerned about effect of raw sewage being washed out of the sewers. When the water level subsides, unpleasant residues are left on the road and pavement.

David and I have contacted Scottish Water about this and asked them to organise a clean up.

I think this regular flooding of Cedar Road, is also indicative of overloaded sewers in this part of Broughty Ferry. This is part of the infrastructure in Broughty Ferry that needs to keep pace with new housing developments.

Sewage on Cedar Road: Residents Need Effective Action

David Hewick, Planning Secretary of Broughty Ferry Community Council has been complaining for months about the nasty sewage residues in Cedar Road near its junction with Forthill Road.  


After heavy rainfall there is usually flooding on the road which is inconvenient. When the water levels subside however it becomes obvious that it's not just surface water that has been gathering in a pool but water coming up out of the drains together with residues of human sewage.

I think that Scottish Water need to come up with a long term resolution of this issue. It's all very well sending out staff to clean up the mess, but while we are waiting for this, children are walking to school along these streets This is a public health issue. Residents in this areas deserve reassurance that the capacity of the drains will be improved to cope with regular downpours so that sewage isn't washing up on their streets week after week.

This is also an issue for the City Council.  I think this situation in Cedar Road is an indicator that our drains often do not have the capacity to cope with the outfall from our current number of households in Broughty Ferry. I think we need acknowledgement that any more new houses in the northern part of Broughty Ferry will require improvements to infrastructure like the drains.

Cedar Road Sewage Flooding Not Acceptable

David Hewick, from Broughty Ferry Community Council, has being kicking up a fuss with Scottish Water about regular flooding at the southern end of Cedar Road near its junction with Forthill Road. 

While the temporary flooding is bad enough, his prime concern is more about what is being washed along with the run off of rain water. When the levels of flood water recede there is a nasty smell from human sewage and used toilet paper in the road. 

Despite notifying Scottish Water on numerous occasions and sending in pictures as evidence there has been no resolution from them. This is totally unacceptable. This is a serious public health issue and must be resolved. 

There are also wider questions about the capacity of our drainage system in Broughty Ferry. If the current system can't cope, what will things be like when even more homes are built and linked into the sewage and drainage system?