Musings from the Merse
Monday, October 05, 2009
ITS MONDAY. ROAD AND WATER CHAOS HORROR
Our motoring correspondent Rhoda Hogg writes:
The stretch of the B6437 S. of the junction with the B6461. During the road works there was a portaloo at each end of this section of road. However, the one at the southern end seemed to disappear at night – where to we know not. The road was closed for “resurfacing”. It now no longer has a white line down the middle but a white line near each edge of the road, thus seeming to narrow it and also to terrify anyone with a small car when there is an agrivehicle coming the other way. The ruts at the crumbling edges have been filled in with what looks like earth. Any agricultural driver trying not to leave wheel marks on the roof of a Ka or similar small car is requested not to churn up these edges with his nasty, heavy vehicle. The odd mark down the former middle of the road is still there. Nobody seems to know why all that loose grit was spread along the road the last time it was closed a few weeks ago, but there ain’t any more. Residents of nearby cottages have been inconvenienced greatly by their overflow car park having been squatted in for some time (and without warning) by large SBC road works vehicles. Has the area been turned into an SBC plant park? While the monsters are there they are not out busily mending our crumbling roads. SBC and communication, eh?
Across the water there are further hazards awaiting the unwary visitor to Norham. Northumbrian Water have some sort of strange road digging operation going on which requires a traffic light system. During the day this is complicated further by large vehicles not looking where they are going. The red light sign at the bridge end of the works is too flimsy to stand up for long and the bizarre position of the red light to which it pertains has caused many an eek moment. Every night village the temporary barriers collapse into the trench they are allegedly guarding but nobody has worked out who or what is doing this. And we thought SBC were dire…….
And if road problems re not enough how about this ?:
For Immediate Release
Engineers Battle to Reconnect Duns
Scottish Water engineers are currently assessing the damage following a burst to the 18 inch outlet main from the Dunslaw Service Reservoir.
In order to investigate the damaged main and begin repair work it has been necessary to shut off the water supply to a number of local communities. In order to reduce morning disruption this shut down was left to as late as was possible.
Customers in Duns have been first to be affected, however customers in or near the surrounding areas of Greenlaw, Swinton, Hutton, Paxton, Whitsome, Chirnside and Foulden could also be affected during the course of the day.
Craig Lawson, Scottish Water’s Regional Manager for the Borders said:
“Our engineers are doing everything possible to complete this repair as quickly as they can. The burst 18 inch iron main is affecting more than 4,900 properties and it’s important that we reduce disruption as much as possible. We would like to take this opportunity to apologise for any inconvenience this may be causing.”
We will continue to keep the local community informed as we assess the damage to the main and begin repairs.
Scottish Water would ask customers able to preserve drinking water supplies to do so at this time.
You can follow the drip by drip crisis here
In the meanwhile the Coop in Duns has run out of bottled water!
Which gives the lie to the old Two Ronnies news item:
News of Panic Buying in Scotland THERE ISN'T ANY
PS Go here to see Scotland's most popular blog
Our motoring correspondent Rhoda Hogg writes:
The stretch of the B6437 S. of the junction with the B6461. During the road works there was a portaloo at each end of this section of road. However, the one at the southern end seemed to disappear at night – where to we know not. The road was closed for “resurfacing”. It now no longer has a white line down the middle but a white line near each edge of the road, thus seeming to narrow it and also to terrify anyone with a small car when there is an agrivehicle coming the other way. The ruts at the crumbling edges have been filled in with what looks like earth. Any agricultural driver trying not to leave wheel marks on the roof of a Ka or similar small car is requested not to churn up these edges with his nasty, heavy vehicle. The odd mark down the former middle of the road is still there. Nobody seems to know why all that loose grit was spread along the road the last time it was closed a few weeks ago, but there ain’t any more. Residents of nearby cottages have been inconvenienced greatly by their overflow car park having been squatted in for some time (and without warning) by large SBC road works vehicles. Has the area been turned into an SBC plant park? While the monsters are there they are not out busily mending our crumbling roads. SBC and communication, eh?
Across the water there are further hazards awaiting the unwary visitor to Norham. Northumbrian Water have some sort of strange road digging operation going on which requires a traffic light system. During the day this is complicated further by large vehicles not looking where they are going. The red light sign at the bridge end of the works is too flimsy to stand up for long and the bizarre position of the red light to which it pertains has caused many an eek moment. Every night village the temporary barriers collapse into the trench they are allegedly guarding but nobody has worked out who or what is doing this. And we thought SBC were dire…….
And if road problems re not enough how about this ?:
For Immediate Release
Engineers Battle to Reconnect Duns
Scottish Water engineers are currently assessing the damage following a burst to the 18 inch outlet main from the Dunslaw Service Reservoir.
In order to investigate the damaged main and begin repair work it has been necessary to shut off the water supply to a number of local communities. In order to reduce morning disruption this shut down was left to as late as was possible.
Customers in Duns have been first to be affected, however customers in or near the surrounding areas of Greenlaw, Swinton, Hutton, Paxton, Whitsome, Chirnside and Foulden could also be affected during the course of the day.
Craig Lawson, Scottish Water’s Regional Manager for the Borders said:
“Our engineers are doing everything possible to complete this repair as quickly as they can. The burst 18 inch iron main is affecting more than 4,900 properties and it’s important that we reduce disruption as much as possible. We would like to take this opportunity to apologise for any inconvenience this may be causing.”
We will continue to keep the local community informed as we assess the damage to the main and begin repairs.
Scottish Water would ask customers able to preserve drinking water supplies to do so at this time.
You can follow the drip by drip crisis here
In the meanwhile the Coop in Duns has run out of bottled water!
Which gives the lie to the old Two Ronnies news item:
News of Panic Buying in Scotland THERE ISN'T ANY
PS Go here to see Scotland's most popular blog
Labels: B6437, B6461, Duns out of water, Panic butying, Scottish Water
Comments:
Whate date was the water disaster?
I wouldn't be alarmed by Duns CoOp selling out of bottled water (both of them, then) because they appear not to stock most reasonable items of shopping although they HAVE started stocking organic skimmed milk, gasp, gasp. Okay, so it's twice the price of anywhere else....
I wouldn't be alarmed by Duns CoOp selling out of bottled water (both of them, then) because they appear not to stock most reasonable items of shopping although they HAVE started stocking organic skimmed milk, gasp, gasp. Okay, so it's twice the price of anywhere else....
# posted by 
: 1:54 PM
: 1:54 PM
You are performing a public service giving us rural sorts rather more information than Scottish Water, from whom we have received precisely nothing.When I got through eventually the beleaguered chappie on the other end was very surprised that the only news I had was via an ineternet blog. We heard it here first. My pressure is sti;; down and I have just washed my hair in cooler-than-tepid water.
# posted by : 3:53 PM
: 3:53 PM
Well I was surprised that Scottish Water rang the Old Manse to tell me about the water main burst-never mind we had moved out 13 months ago and never mind that I haven't been chairman of the community council for four years. But a touching thought. Their website is good, updated every couple of hours-but if you haven't a computer you may be floundering (npi) in the dark
Well, their telephone bit isn't. It was last updated at 1.30 a.m. today (Tuesday). No sign of any leaflets or attempts to contact the public outside the seething nest of Duns.When I rang during the Archers tonight they told me to leave on the kitchen tap for 2 hours and that should clear it. Having had to make do with bottled water for drinks and cooking I couldn't face doing the growing pile of washing up in something resembling a Nigerian sewer.Did they give the same advice to everyone and will there be any water left in the reservoir by tomorrow. The wqords scarce....natural....resource spring to mind.
# posted by : 10:08 PM
: 10:08 PM
Very odd. Our pressure was immediately back to normal.
Why ring during the Archers? Lost its grip? Switch to the Broons
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Why ring during the Archers? Lost its grip? Switch to the Broons
