Worse flooding at Sawley

THE flood at Sawley Marina became worse yesterday with the improved flood defence finally over-topped.

This meant that the road outside the marina flooded late afternnoon with the Plank & Leggit outside the gates under water and the level over the marina jetties increasing.

Had to close

Though the pub was open at lunch time it then had to close, with a staff member, Lucy Dinsdale, telling Derbyshire Live:

“We’ve had to closed today. The water in the car park is knee deep.

“We stayed open for as long as we could last night but because it’s such a big car park there’s nothing we can do. The entrance to the pub was completely cut off by floodwater this afternoon.

Marooned

A resident boater at the marina told:

“It was just yesterday that it was really bad. Dennis the Menace came to visit.  I got marooned yesterday, I couldn’t get off. We were stranded, the platforms [jetties] had 10-12 inches of water on them."

Since then we are told the water level was even higher after the flood defence could not cope, allowing water to come through the lorry auction yard, on to the road and into the marina.

Still on their boats

It seems that the rule regarding residents having to vacate their boats when the water goes over the jetties is not being enforced, as many are still on their boats.  Of course with nearing 100 families resident in the marina, many with nowhere else to go, it would create unimaginable hardship for some to find alternative accommodation.

It would all depend how dangerous it became.  In 2000 when the water was released from the Derwent Reservoir in the floods, it topped three feet over the jetties, and everyone was evacuated, though nowhere near the number of residents as at present.  The photograph below, taken yesterday (Tuesday) before the added depth, shows the marker by the jetty well into the red.