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In October 2002, Aberdeenshire suffered severe flooding when a number of rivers in the region burst their banks.

As a result, major flood defence projects were initiated. Amongst many measures implemented, Aberdeenshire Council bought around thirty Floodgates.

Over the intervening years, the council has distributed these Floodgates to properties at severe risk of flooding.

The Floodgates are provided to residents according to individual assessment of need and are accompanied by a letter stating that the Floodgates are the property of the council and must remain with the property in the event that the current owner or occupier moves.

Whilst the original flooding event back in 2002 was the more ‘traditional’ fluvial flooding, Aberdeenshire is experiencing the same increase in flash flooding, typically caused by torrential rainfall overwhelming existing drainage systems, as the rest of the country.

Last year, the council took delivery of a further 40 Floodgates including 30 which were split equally between their 3 local depots for use as rapid deployment flood defence.

The remaining 10 Floodgates have been allocated to their permanent protection program for properties known to be at significant risk of flooding.

Adam Smith, River Inspector for the Coastal Protection and Flooding Unit, said, “Floodgates are excellent, they are the only kite-marked solution that we have found that enables us to respond so quickly to flood risk.

The fact that they are completely re-usable is an added bonus making them extremely cost effective. We have evaluated other products but they all require preparatory work on properties before deployment, defeating the object of rapid deployment.”