In the past, heavy rain has caused overflows at our culverts, with floodwater travelling quite far into the surrounding streets. We understand how stressful and disruptive this can be for our communities. That is why we have been working hard to change how we monitor and look after our waterways.
Instead of just reacting when things go wrong, we are putting smarter, proactive systems in place to protect your street, strengthen our neighbourhood’s defences, and give you peace of mind.
What we are doing at Heol Dyfed
We have introduced new tools and regular routines to keep the water flowing safely and stop it from reaching your doorsteps.
We have installed an electronic monitoring system on the Heol Dyfed culvert. If heavy rain causes water levels to rise over 50%, our team instantly gets a text alert so we can watch it closely.
Every single month, our teams carry out a full audit of the culvert. We clear anything trapped and cut back any overgrown plants that might block the water flow.
Whenever a severe weather warning is issued, we do not wait; we check the culvert every day to make sure it stays completely clear.
We will build a protective barrier wall using sandbags at the top of the steps. This is designed to catch any sudden overflows and divert the water away from the streets and directly into the main drainage systems.
Last winter, the smart system flagged that the water had reached 75%. Because we were alerted early, we were able to monitor it constantly, clear out blockages, and get our sandbags ready before it could cause a problem.
Our plans
We want to take the success we’ve had at Heol Dyfed and apply it across our other communities to prevent problems before they start.
We are planning to install these same smart monitoring systems on all our most problematic culverts that are prone to flooding.
We are exploring the use of live cameras. This will allow us to see what is happening instantly through digital tech rather than waiting for a team member to drive out to the site, helping us respond much faster.
We are actively working with Bridgend County Borough Council (BCBC) to make sure local street drains are kept clear and unblocked, so the whole network works together properly.
We are lucky to have an in-house expert leading this work. One of our key team members has a specialist background in drainage engineering, meaning your community defences are being managed by the best person for the job!
Right now, we do not have a fixed start or completion date for rolling out the new monitoring systems. We have recently gone out to procure the technology from suppliers, which is the necessary first step. Because we are dealing with external suppliers and specialist equipment, timescales can sometimes shift.
But we promise to keep you updated on our progress as soon as we have firm dates to share. The great news is that the phase of work we are planning will not cause loud noise, road closures, or restricted access to your street.
Help protect your home
We are out in your neighbourhood regularly, and we maintain a massive stockpile of emergency sandbags up in Maesteg ready to deploy the second our system triggers an alert. However, we can achieve the best results when we work as a team. Here are things you can do to help keep the neighbourhood safe:
We will be checking the site regularly, but if you ever see water rising or heading towards your property, please get in touch with us immediately. We will instantly action our rapid-response call-out team to come and help.
For extra peace of mind during bad winters, it is always a smart idea to purchase a few of your own sandbags to keep at home just in case. We partner with HJE, our waste contractors. You can contact them directly to request recycled sandbags to help protect your doorways.
If you have any immediate concerns about the culvert, notice a blockage, or want to report rising water, please call us on 0300 123 2100 or email TheHub@v2c.org.uk. We are here to help.