A major new scheme to reduce flooding is set to be introduced in west Reading.
Reading Borough Council’s (RBC) Strategic Environment, Planning and Transport committee will vote on whether to approve a flood reduction scheme on Stone Street, near Portman Road, next week.
The Stone Street scheme will alleviate and reduce flood risk during extreme rainfall events.
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Stone Street was highlighted as a flood risk after the extreme flooding in July 2007.
There is a specific flooding issue in parts of Stone Street when there are extreme rainfall events where the surface water sewers back up and cross flood into the foul sewers, which in turn surcharge and cause flooding on the roads, in front gardens and inside a small number of homes.
The main surface water culvert is located on the north side of Portman Road and the surface water sewer connecting from Stone Street cannot discharge when that culvert is in full flow, and backs up causing this cross sewer flooding issue.
The scheme will release the pressure build up by providing a controlled discharge mechanism for excess rainwater into a series of swales and shallow formed areas on the wide verge area of Portman Road.
This will only be required during extreme events and will reduce the risk of the flooding.
Thames Water has previously upgraded its surface water pumping station at Cow Lane, which reduced the risk of flooding in Stone Street but was not able to completely stop flooding during very heavy rainfall events when all the systems are under huge pressure.
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This scheme will further reduce the risk of flooding in the area.
As the lead local flood authority, RBC has a duty to reduce the risk of flooding in the borough.
The council has successfully bid for a £150,000 grant from the Environment Agency which will fund the scheme.
RBC will also contribute up to £50,000 from its Streetcare Revenue Surface Water Management budget.
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