University professor warns city must take action or prepare for a catastrophic flood
A DIRE WARNING for the future of York was issued by a University Professor last week, who revealed that the city could suffer a catastrophic flood event within thirty years which would cover the town, suburbs and even submerge the University campus.
In an exclusive interview with Nouse, Professor Whitelegg, from the University’s Stockholm Institute, hit out against the claims put to his name in the local press that York would have to be totally abandoned within thirty years.
He said: “I do not believe in walking around with a sandwich board saying ‘repent ye wicked for we are all doomed’ and that’s the danger with this debate.” His view is that action must be taken soon to help prevent a flash flood making the city a part of history.
Such a flood has no historical precedence, but could easily happen if there were ten days of very heavy rain, saturating the ground and overloading the drains. This followed by a big thunderstorm would overload the entire system, dumping millions of gallons of water into the Ouse within twenty minutes.
This excess water would have nowhere to go other than the surrounding land thanks to years of bad planning decisions, which have led to a gradual concreting of the rivers flood plain. This will help the river to get water so quickly, with no trees or green land to absorb it, that the whole of York would flood within hours.
These claims have infuriated the scientific community, who have instantly condemned the Professor for his lack of scientific evidence. However, there is no scientific method to prove these claims because York has been so heavily built on that there are no historical circumstances to which this flood can be compared.
Condemning the local planning authorities he said: “People are deliberately doing things to make this worst.” Whitelegg wants all new building developments to seriously consider whether they will make a catastrophic flood event more or less likely. Something he believes is simply not being done.
Low lying greenfield sites should be avoided, and all new build projects should have methods of slowing down rainwater from reaching the river. Whether these plans include grass roofs, interspersed fields and ponds, or even a big lake, planners must stop and think about flooding or risk their investments being swamped by the Ouse.
Hitting out against establishment thinking and sensational journalism Whitelegg stands by his claim that something must be done.
He said: “I am unrepentant, the scientific community does not have the right to be the only accepted voice of wisdom.
“I’d much rather have 150,000 people in York say hey there’s something going on here, and then maybe we’d get a better debate and better policy.”
