West Lothian baby graves to be protected from flooding after winter damage

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A new flood defence barrier to protect the graves of babies in Bathgate cemetery is being built following a Christmas flooding incident.The new barrier will be able to withstand a 1-in-75 year flood, councillors were told last week.Parts of the graveyard close to Bathgate Water- the Bog Burn- were submerged following heavy rain on 29 December when almost 30 per cent of the month’s rain fell in one night.What was particularly upsetting to many in the town was that the area worst hit contained the graves of babies.Councillors on the town’s Local Area Committee heard that work was almost complete on a new bund - a flat-topped earthwork which acts as a physical barrier between the cemetery and banks of the burn.A report to the committee by the council Flood Risk Management team explained: “Works are currently on site to construct the bund to help mitigate future river flooding and is due to be completed early March 2022.

The purpose of the bund is to direct flood water to a point downstream in an effort to reduce the risk.”Chairing the meeting, Councillor Harry Cartmill said: “The flooding issue caused a lot of heartache in the town.

It was the children’s part of the cemetery that was flooded, the second time it’s happened.”Ronnie Fisher, the council’s Design Engineering Manager answered questions from Councillor Cartmill on funding for wider works to improve water flow through Bathgate around the Bog Burn.There are long term plans to improve the area as a nature park and create flood mitigation measures as part of that work.

The work is a partnership with the council and other bodies including the Forth Rivers Trust and SEPA.Councillor Cartmil asked Fraser Keast, a Flood Risk Management Engineer with the council: “If we did