They are not taking any chances in Kennet Place. With the River Kennet at a new high level, Val Compton asked advice from firemen at the nearby fire station and they came and used clay to block up the air bricks in front of her house and of the others in the terrace.
Marlborough’s new flood defences on the River Kennet have brought great relief to the people living in Kennet Place. As Val Compton says the view of the very full and fast flowing river surging safely past her home is ‘spectacular’.
But there is always some anxiety with so much rain falling in the river’s upper catchment area and on the town. First there is a worry in low lying areas of the town about overfull rainwater drains.
And secondly there is the worry that water might be held up so much at Town Mill bridge that it breaches the bank upstream of the bridge or even pours over the top of the bridge with water spilling onto the road.
Seen from the downstream side on Thursday morning (February 6), the bridge’s arch had disappeared below the torrent of water as it forced its way under the bridge.
As Val Compton told Marlborough News Online: “The next big storm will show us where the weak points are.”
“Now we have a flood wall, it is difficult to know what may happen next – but the pinch point under Town Mill bridge is pretty much at capacity and there’s ground water pooling outside Krumbz Café – they’ve got stepping stones for customers.”
“What I don’t want to see is the plume of water as the river hits the bridge, as that would end up in Kennet Place. And it would fill up Kennet Place quite quickly.”
As it is, with river water still flooding into Coopers Meadow, the footpath along the south side of the Town Mill houses is now under water – much to the delight of the ducks. And there is another low pressure system on the way bringing more rain which will not bring delight to anyone – ducks excepted.
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