Flood Victims Demand Freshwater

07 September 2008, 1:54pm

With floods back in the news again this week, flood victims are almost unanimous in their demand for utility companies and local authorities to maintain supplies of fresh tap water during the UK’s increasing number of floods, according to a new survey published today (7 September, 2008) by Hesco Bastion, the flood defence people*.

When asked to rank the importance of a series of key issues concerning flooding, 92% of respondents ranked a fresh water supply as very important, 70% ranked an electricity supply as very important, 57% damage relief and 41% emotional support for victims.

With 79% of respondents agreeing that there will be more flooding occurring in the UK in the coming decade, over half (52%) of those quizzed felt that the responsibility for maintaining fresh water and electricity supplies fell to the utility companies; 24% felt it was the local authority’s responsibility and 21% felt it was central government’s responsibility.

The survey was commissioned by Hesco Bastion Limited, who are based in Leeds, and who manufacture barriers which have been used successfully all over the country to prevent floods interrupting the work of water treatments works, reservoirs and electricity substations.

* ‘Flooding’

All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 2,089 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken in January 2008. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+).

Hesco Bastion Limited, based in Yorkshire, makes a product called the the Concertainer® unit. The system consists of a linked wire mesh and fabric-lined basket that is pulled into position manually. Within a matter of minutes these barriers stand rigid ready to be filled with locally available aggregate, forming a strong defensive wall. The technology is simple to deploy yet proved enormously effective when protecting facilities such as water treatment plants, electricity power stations and even railway lines. Prior to its use during the UK’s floods last summer, it was used to upgrade levees after Hurricane Katrina destroyed New Orleans’ defences.

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www.hesco.com

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