The town of Conchy-sur-Canche was divided between relief and concern this Tuesday, November 19, 2024: although certain streets were flooded, homes were spared. But for how long? The mayor is worried about the upcoming precipitation this winter.
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The yellow alert gave a little scare to the town of Conchy-sur-Canche this Tuesday, November 19, 2024. In this village in Pas-de-Calais, precipitation of 26 millimeters fell. “Fairly intense rain, but not extraordinary either”, points out Dominique Coquet, the mayor.
Also read >>> Floods. Rain, groundwater, rivers, a high-risk winter in Pas-de-Calais?
However, when I woke up, the streets of the town were flooded. The homes were spared by the waters. “Our problem is runoff, even torrential runoff”, explains the councilor. “We are a valley bottom village, with a slope of 5% over several kilometers.” The councilor is particularly worried at the end of November.
Last year, the city was not affected much by flooding: “only between January and March”. “We had green manure crops”, specifies Dominique Coquet. This year, “late sowing and lots of wheat sowing…” A change which risks making all the difference for Conchy-sur-Canche, since these crops retain less water.
We fear the following alerts given the crops upstream and given the runoff with only 26 millimeters of rain.
Dominique Coquetmayor of Conchy-sur-Canche
“We fear the following alerts given the crops upstream and given the runoff with only 26 millimeters of rain: the rainfall was not enormous”, deplores the mayor. “I'm not going to have a peaceful winter there.” According to the elected official, “nothing holds water on farmland”. He claims that 110,000 tonnes of sediment erode each year in the Canche estuary.
This time, one of the emergency installations – a ditch with a road trench – helped to stem some of the water, preventing more serious flooding. “But we have another work that didn't hold up, we can start again…”, deplores Dominique Coquet.
Also read >>> VIDEO. Floods in Pas-de-Calais: one year after the start of the victims' ordeal, an update on the progress of the work
Currently, the municipality is awaiting the start of work for a “3000m buffer basin3”. Its construction is indeed planned but “the State turned to the water agency for funding”. “We are waiting for a return”, specifies the mayor, for whom the situation is becoming urgent.
