Plans could be in place to stop a Newtown park pathway from being covered in flood water following recent “unprecedented and continuous" rainfall over recent months.
A new drainage system could be introduced in Dolerw Park to try drain the standing water away from the path near the Milford Road entrance.
Open Newtown is an organisation that manages 130 acres of green spaces in the town including Dolerw Park. It's CEO Stuart Owen has given Newtown and Llanllwchaiarn Town Council an update on flooding issues.
He said: "We occasionally receive calls for improvements to Dolerw Park pathways, which is currently in flood.
"We’re considering introducing a French drain around the treeline that forms the end of Dolerw Park and the Gorsedd Stones, to drain some of the excess standing water from the area, if ground levels are suitable. Costs will be sought from contractors and permission sought from NRW as to permit."
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The idea behind French drains is that rather than sitting on the surface of the ground, water will seep down into trenches to be taken away to a drainage area.
Mr Owen added: "Large areas of the flood plains alongside the River Severn in Newtown remain in flood, as the unprecedented and continuous rainfall has left the grounds saturated and the river levels high.
"We’re seeking drainage solutions from contractors along with permit from Natural Resources Wales, to try to drain some of the standing water away from the pathway."
More than half of the 130 acres of land managed by Open Newtown is flood plain some of which like Dolerw Park host events such as Welsh Athletics cross country competitions.
Following November’s event, Open Newtown said: "As Dolerw Park is a floodplain we do suffer from some areas being waterlogged. Alongside local contractors we’ve considered multiple ways in which we can drain said areas but remain without a viable and affordable engineering solution to date."
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