In a period of around 3 hours in the late afternoon/early evening the Selly Park and Edgbaston areas received 82mm of rain. In just one hour between 5pm and 6pm there was 59mm of rain. To put this in context the long term average total monthly rainfall for here is 62mm. The rainfall on Sunday was a new record in terms of quantity and intensity. Also the level of the River Rea at the Calthorpe Park gauge which has been operational for half a century set a new record high. The Selly Park river level gauge which went operational in 2009 also recorded a new record high on Sunday.
Despite the very high river level there was NO river flooding in the Selly Park South neighbourhood. This was because of the new Selly Park South Flood Alleviation Scheme flood defences which became operational in December last year. The scheme is designed to safely contain flood water upstream of Dogpool Bridge and then release it downstream as the river level falls. This also controls the level of the Rea through Selly Park North protecting that neighbourhood from flooding from the Rea. The severe flooding in Selly Park North (Sir Johns Road and the Avenues) resulted from a combination of floodwater from the Bourne Brook and surface water flooding. A flood alleviation scheme to prevent flooding from the Bourne Brook is underway but not yet complete.
The flooding which occurred in Selly Park South on Moor Green Lane, Dogpool Lane, Fashoda Road, Cecil Road, lower Hobson Road and lower Kitchener Road was surface water flooding caused by the torrential rainfall overwhelming the drainage system. Very regrettably some properties suffered some incursion of water and despite the Flood Action Group requesting sandbags from Birmingham City Council it was not possible to deliver these in time because of the speed of the flooding and the traffic chaos which blocked many main roads including Pershore Road and Bristol Road. With further storms possible this week the City Council arranged a precautionary delivery of 200 sandbags to the locations in our neighbourhood most at risk, namely Fashoda Road between Hobson Road and Dogpool Lane and the Moor Green Lane houses by Dogpool Bridge. Also air brick covers were distributed in the same locations.
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