Flooding for residents living by a freight line and reservoir in Audenshaw, Manchester has been solved by railway engineers.
Residents on Stamford Road in Audenshaw, which backs onto the railway and the reservoir, have had their gardens flooding since 2017.
The homeowners set about trying to find out what was causing the problem.
Working with Tameside Council and United Utilities, Network Rail drainage specialists used CCTV to rule out reservoir pipes from being the source of the leak.
Instead, drainage upgrades to the railway were brought forward in a bid to solve the flooding.
The work saw 200 tonnes of stone and 180 metres of new drainage channels built between the railway embankment and the homes.
The drainage improvements were completed on April 17.
What did the officials say?
Rick Hellings, drainage engineer for Network Rail, said:
“I'd like to thank the residents of Stamford road and local MP Andrew Gwynne for their patience throughout the planning and delivery of these £100,000 drainage improvements.
“With work now complete and their gardens hopefully a lot drier, I hope it gives them the peace of mind to enjoy their outdoor space, which is especially important now as people stay at home during the coronavirus to protect the NHS.”
A spokesperson on behalf of the residents of Stamford Road and Balmoral Avenue in Audenshaw said:
“We are indebted to residents Sue Heath and Frank Callaghan, as well as Andrew Gwynne MP and Network Rail, for ensuring that the work to end the flooding problem in gardens adjoining the railway has been driven forward and completed. Hopefully we can now enjoy the benefits of our gardens.”
Andrew Gywnne, MP for Denton and Reddish, said:
“I am delighted that flooding for residents on Stamford Road has now been resolved.
“This has been a difficult time for residents and I'd like to commend them for their part in assisting Network Rail, Tameside Council and United Utilities in getting this sorted.
“I am particularly pleased that residents will now be able to enjoy their gardens as coronavirus keeps us all at home.”
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Steam railways are in the cart and even more of a problem for them will be the lack of lump coal of the right grade as due to lack of demand during lock down suppliers will I suspect think it is no longer needed and crush the lumps for power generation as has been happening
The residents will now be praying for rain after a couple of dry days and “the garden needs the rain”.