Ross-shire landlord points finger at Scottish Water over flood damage; Dingwall publican left counting cost
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A ROSS-shire publican is taking Scottish Water to task over thousands of pounds-worth of damage to his popular bar.
Martin Keyes (57) said he squarely places the blame for flooding at the door of the utilities company after a three-month long closure of his Dingwall bar and restaurant, Oscars.
He wants Scottish Water to foot a £20,000 shortfall in compensation from his insurance company for loss of earnings and destruction of stock in the busy food-serving pub.
Scottish Water disputed that it was its responsibility, confirming that it was waiting for the outcome of a report before it dealt with a compensation claim made by Mr Keyes.
Mr Keyes, who has owned the pub with wife Roslyn for 16 years, said: "I am blaming Scottish Water for this flood.
"Common sense tells me that after never being flooded before, and then I am flooded twice in a matter of weeks that it is something wrong with the drains and that is why I was flooded in July and August.
"On the second flooding I went down the road to our nearest drain at Simpson Place. When I lifted it, it was up to the top with water, some five or six feet deep.
"There has never been a flood here before."
A Freedom of Information request passed to The Ross-shire Journal shows that the drain Mr Keyes raised concerns about, was unblocked twice in 2019. Before then, it hadn't been unblocked since 2016.
The description for the work order is given as "remove chokes".
Scottish Water told The Journal: "We understand how distressing and disruptive flooding is for customers, no matter the cause. Wherever sewer flooding has occurred, it is always our responsibility to attend as quickly as possible in order to assist customers and investigate.
“During intense rainstorms like the ones that occurred in Dingwall this summer, drains, sewers and watercourses can be temporarily unable to cope with the quantity of surface water they are receiving from buildings, footpaths and roadways. This can result in flooding occurring until the storm subsides.
“In the course of its work to assist customers and check the sewer network after flooding occurred on July 10, our local team identified and cleared a localised constraint in one of our sewers near Simpson Place, caused by build-up of fats, oils and greases. This was not preventing the sewer from operating or causing flooding, but had potential to result in a blockage in the future so was cleared.
“The management of very high volumes of surface water during intense rainstorms is a significant challenge across Scotland. We are committed to working with local authorities and other partners to explore long term options to reduce flood risk. We have received a claim from the owner of Oscar’s and this is receiving attention through our established claims process.”
MSP Kate Forbes said she was monitoring the situation. She said: “Roslyn and Martin Keyes have been through an extremely difficult time in the last few months, after their pub was flooded twice. They came to me looking for help after the first time because they were struggling to get answers or support. There was a second incident of flooding shortly afterwards.
“I wrote to Scottish Water asking them to address the Keyes’ concerns as a matter of urgency. Scottish Water are conducting investigations and I expect further information in the next few weeks.
“The Keyes need answers as to why the flooding happened and what support they can get for their business.
“I intend to support the Keyes until this is resolved.”
Related articles: Ross-shire lashed by heavy rain and flooding.
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Jury still out on flash flood action plan.
