Looking back: WPD staff step in to help Wainfleet flood

Looking back: The images of a Chinook helicopter trying to plug defences in the River Steeping dominated news broadcasts in June last year – and WPD staff were in the thick of the action. 

A state of emergency was declared in Wainfleet, Lincolnshire when the River Steeping burst its banks, forcing the evacuation of almost 600 homes – including that of a WPD linesman who was working to keep electricity supplies on throughout the crisis.

WPD staff worked around the clock, alongside other members of the Lincolnshire Local Resilience Forum and countless volunteers, to protect people and property (and a cat) over one long weekend in June last year.

Mark Greenhaigh, a Technician in Lincolnshire West, was one of the first on the scene when he responded to reports of a flooded substation at Wainfleet at 5pm on Thursday, June 13.

Mark said: “The water level was rising very fast so I ordered sandbags to build a wall in front of the sub. I dug a sump inside so that we could install pumps to take the water away from the area around the sub.”

With the situation under control, Mark toured the area checking the flood levels around other assets. When the Fire Service took him by boat to a pad-mounted transformer at Mount Pitts Lane, he found steam rising from it.

A decision was taken to de-energise the substation. However, the resultant switching operation threatened to cut off supplies to the local fire station, which was being used as a Bronze Command Centre to coordinate the multi-agency response on the ground. The Command Centre was critical throughout the whole operation so any time off supply would mean the loss of a vital communication hub.

Through a series of co-ordinated switching operations, in conjunction with the control centre at Pegasus, the total time of disconnection for the Command Centre was limited to just two and a half minutes.

All efforts could now be focused on maintaining supplies at the first sub and preventing any loss of supply to a large proportion of the town. Mark worked throughout the night and only left when he was replaced by Technician Paul Lomas the following morning.

Meanwhile, Technician Dean Hayhurst, from the Lincoln City team, was called at 10pm on Thursday night to attend the Gold Command Group in Lincoln. Meetings were held every two hours throughout the night to assess the developing situation.

Dean said: “My job was to provide information to the response teams, including the fire and rescue crews, on the hazards and risks, which included identifying subs under threat.”

During this time, Dean liaised with Mark to ensure the smooth switching of the network following the decision to de-energise the Mount Pitts Lane substation.

Dean eventually handed over the following morning to WPD Emergency Planning Officer, Carl Henshaw.

For Pete East, a Wainfleet resident and Linesman with the Alford team, the situation brought personal challenges.

He was called out at 7am on Friday to where Mark was still battling to stop water levels rising in the substation. Pete was briefed on the situation, along with colleagues Tony Marsh, Darren Bogg, Jordan Smith, Josh Edwards and Harry Cumberworth who arrived at 8.30am with spare pumps and fuel tins.

While Pete was manning the pumps on Saturday, Gold Command decided to evacuate a further 300 people from their homes – including Pete. After moving his car and making sure his cat was safe, Pete continued to work into Sunday.

By the time of the latest evacuation on Saturday afternoon, water levels were reaching worrying new heights. WPD supplied a generator to a care home in Wainfleet where residents had been moved upstairs to safety by nursing staff.

Aide Daubney, Engineering Specialist with the Boston team, recalls: “The level was rising again and we had eight substations at risk. Two of these were for the main Internal Drainage Board (IDB) pumping station at Thorpe Culvert which was fed from 11kV circuits that were sitting in water. This was responsible for pumping water away from the breached river.

“During the day, we liaised with the control room to move the network around to ensure that supplies were maintained to strategic assets for the local population, including the emergency services.”

By this time, the helicopter unit had arrived to identify access issues and the potential impact on the network, as well as carrying out damage assessment. This involved checking on the threatened substations as well as a 132kV circuit, two 33kV circuits and two 11kV circuits, all of which were inaccessible from the ground because of flood waters.

At the request of Gold Command, the helicopter was also used to replace police drones, supplement the tasking of RAF helicopters and capture high quality images of the affected river bank for the EA. Wainfleet residents were also playing an important part in the relief operation.

Pete East remembers: “It was a real community effort; everyone rallied round. Local people were very grateful to the emergency services and utilities, including WPD. Volunteers were filling sandbags and making meals and hot drinks. There was even free sausage and chips from the local chippie and some volunteers walked through the water with trays of toast and tea.”

Carl Henshaw, Emergency Planning Officer, concluded: “The events at Wainfleet were unique and, although concentrated in a relatively small geographical area, had an immense impact on those living there.

“The multi-agency response swung quickly into action and remained stood-up for over a week in order to facilitate a relatively swift return to normality.

“WPD played a massive role in that response. The support provided by North Lincs staff out on the ground, among the flooded properties and within the community hub, yet again demonstrated our commitment to our customers. It also ensured that those of us within the Emergency Centre knew exactly what was going on at all times, including any potential impacts for us, and that we always had a single version of the truth during co-ordination meetings.”

By the following Friday, the sand bags had been cleared and everything was drying out. It had been a very long week for all involved – and an episode in Wainfleet history that no-one will forget.

Mark Hutchinson, North Lincolnshire DM, was quick to praise all staff for their efforts: “I’d like to thank the team for the level of customer service they delivered in difficult circumstances.”