The £1.4m surface water pumping station in Glenboi is now fully-operational, to help protect the community during heavy rainfall. In a recent test run, the system successfully coped with conditions that replicated a large storm event.
Work throughout 2023 has focused on installing a large upgrade to the existing pumping station at Glenboi, which is intended to provide long-term flood resilience and reassurance to the community. Enabling works in January and February were followed by the main scheme from March – which has now been delivered on time having been commissioned in early September 2023.
The scheme has targeted a known low point in the road at Glenboi which has historically had instances of flooding. The investment has been designed to increase the capacity of the system to cope with heavy rainfall that is possible during storm events – and to reduce flows of water to a downstream culvert.
On Wednesday, September 13, the new pumping station was tested as part of the Council’s preparations for the winter months ahead. More than 50,000 litres of water were artificially added to the local drainage system to simulate an extreme weather event hitting the area. The new pumping station cleared the water in a matter of minutes, which concluded a very successful test.
While pumping station is now fully-operational for the winter, the Council’s contractor Envolve Infrastructure Ltd will continue to maintain a site presence in the next few weeks – to complete tasks such as land reinstatement.
The scheme has benefitted from an 85% contribution (more than £1.2m) from Welsh Government’s Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Capital Programme. The remaining funding is from the Council’s capital programme.
Councillor Andrew Morgan OBE, Leader of Rhondda Cynon Taf Council and Cabinet Member for Infrastructure and Investment, said: “The test run for the upgraded Glenboi pumping station was undertaken recently, which artificially replicated the volume of water that could be experienced within the local drainage system in a storm event. The pumping station cleared the water successfully, which is a very encouraging sign ahead of the winter months.
“More than three-and-a-half years since Storm Dennis, the Council continues to invest in flood alleviation measures as a priority – to improve resilience and reassure communities. Our ongoing flood alleviation programme contains more than 100 schemes, of which more than half are delivered. Officers have also completed all 19 Section 19 Flood Investigation reports to evaluate what happened in Storm Dennis, and how flooding could be alleviated in the future.
“The Council also continues to receive significant Welsh Government support in 2023/24, having secured more than £4.8m across the Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management and Small Scale Works Grant programmes. In addition, a £20m programme of Storm Dennis repairs is being progressed – including White Bridge in Pontypridd, Tynybryn Footbridge in Tonyrefail, Feeder Pipe Footbridge in Abercynon, and Castle Inn Footbridge in Treforest.
“The pumping station upgrade in Glenboi is a major £1.4m scheme that has been targeted to fix a long-standing issue with flooding at this location – which also contributed to issues at a downstream culvert. The large facility is very impressive and, as we saw in the recent test run, is able to deal with a large quantity of water in very short period of time to protect the local community.
“While there will be a contractor site presence for finishing works in the weeks ahead, the community can be reassured that the pumping station is now operational. I’d like to thank local residents at Glenboi for their patience and cooperation, particularly during the main works over the summer months.”
