Introduction

An investigation has been undertaken by Neath Port Talbot Council as Lead Local Flood Authority in response to the flooding that occurred at Varteg Road, Ystalyfera on 16th February 2020. This report is a summary of the investigation and includes relevant information required to meet the statutory requirements placed on the Authority by Section 19 of The Flood and Water Management Act 2010. Information regarding the duties and responsibilities placed on a Lead Local Flood Authority (LLFA) to investigate flooding can be found in Appendix A.

One of the requirements of Section 19 is that an investigation report must identify which Risk Management Authorities (RMA) have relevant flood risk management functions. Appendix B provides a summary of the roles and responsibilities of the RMA’s within Neath Port Talbot.

Through the investigation process, it was determined that the relevant RMA’s for the flooding that occurred at Varteg Road are:

• NPTCBC as Lead Local Flood Authority
• NPTCBC as Highway Authority
• Dwr Cymru Welsh Water as the water company

In addition, it was found that a number of land owners/developers and those with riparian responsibilities for watercourses are also relevant in this instance.

The flooding at Varteg Road, Ystalyfera occurred at approximately 00:30hrs on Sunday 16th February 2020 following a period of prolonged and intense rainfall that started on Saturday 15th February at approximately 03:00 hrs and ended Sunday 16th February at 07:00 hrs.

Emergency response actions were undertaken by NPTCBC to help reduce the flood risk. NPTCBC are in the process of implementing a number of flood mitigation methods in order to protect residents from future flooding. All risk management authorities are aware of the recommendations from the previous report and made aware of any recommendations highlighted in this report.