Stenness drains ‘struggle to cope’ with downpour

Orkney Islands Council is advising motorists to take care driving on the main road around Stenness due to surface water build up following recent wet weather.

This Tuesday saw a particular issue with water right across the A965 near the Stenness Hotel.

Lorna Richardson, interim head of neighbourhood services, said: “Unfortunately the drains and outlets to the loch have struggled to cope with the volume of water we have running off the land at the moment.

“Its important people realise this is a risk that is likely to remain an issue for some time, with the current situation where we have ground which is absolutely saturated and nowhere for water to go apart from downhill.

“We have inspected the drains and outlets in the area and are planning both long term and short term solutions to improve these, but meantime we are warning drivers of the ongoing risk and would urge everyone to bear in mind this could be an issue until we are able to implement the physical solutions.