Firstly a huge thank you to all the emergency services during the Catcliffe floods in June this year (2007)
I am a member of the the Catcliffe and Treeton Flood action group. We are a group of people who lost their homes to the floods in June this year. We are trying to piece together the events as they happened with a view to lessening the chance of flooding in the area in the future.
Has anyone heard anything about the chiefs of the fire brigade giving the firemen based at Ulley Damn last minute instructions as to where to pump out the water ????
Obviously the water pumped out of Ulley had a major impact to the water levels which flooded Catcliffe and Treeton. I've been led to believe that the water at Ulley was going to be pumped out onto a field, but the chiefs changed their mind at the last minute. Is this just a rumour ?? Does anyone have any info ??
If you do then please drop a thread. Many thanks!!
:help:

Well Its funny that as the water levels dropped at Ulley they dramatically increase at catcliffe. My personal opinion (obviously not a legal one) is that they pumped the water into catcliffe to save the bigger impact of the dam breaking. My aunty lives and lost her house at catclifee too and is still living in rented accomodation.:(

Well Its funny that as the water levels dropped at Ulley they dramatically increase at catcliffe. My personal opinion (obviously not a legal one) is that they pumped the water into catcliffe to save the bigger impact of the dam breaking. My aunty lives and lost her house at catclifee too and is still living in rented accomodation.:(

I thought that was the official story anyway? People nearby would have been able to see which way the water was being pumped. I had assumed there was no alternative way to get rid of the water without causing greater damage than was experienced at Catcliffe.

Madgeria,

I work at the Environment Agency. I'm not in flood defence but there is some overlap with my own job. The water pumped from Ulley Reservoir went down the hill towards the M1 near 33 along the path of Ulley Brook into the River Rother at the junction of Bawtry Road and the A630. It was the only possible place it could go.

It didn't flood Treeton or Catcliffe directly which is upstream of where the Ulley brook enters the Rother. However Ulley brook became a high flowing river up to ten feet high and the width of a field rather than an insignificant tributary. This meant that the Rother 'backed up', the water flowing in to Catcliffe (the rain from upstream) could not drain away as it should so rose instead. The difference between the flood levels when the Catcliffe residents were evacuated and Tuesday afternoon was indirectly caused, to at least some extent, by pumping out the water behind the dam at Ulley.

You can view the floodplain from Ulley Dam on the Environment Agencys website which is where the water went.

Lesser of two evils compared to the effects of the dam going.