An investigation report into the impact of storms Ciara, Dennis and Jorge this year will come before Denbighshire councillors in early 2021.

A meeting of the council’s communities scrutiny committee debated flood risks on Thursday.

The meeting heard how Natural Resources Wales had responsibility for rivers so it had been asked to contribute to the report, which would be completed by the end of this month.

It will then be added to the council’s own investigation report which will be presented to councillors by the end of February or beginning of March next year.

The meeting heard how Denbighshire council is broadly responsible for surface water and ordinary watercourses, NRW is responsible for main rivers and the sea and Welsh Water has responsibility for sewers.

Welsh Government has a national strategy for flood and coastal erosion and Denbighshire council also has responsibilities for managing coastal erosion risk.

Landowners whose property borders rivers, streams or ditches also have responsibility for watercourses.

NRW’s Keith Ivens explained how Storm Ciara had been a one in 200 year event and defences had been designed to counter one in 100 year events.

However, St Asaph Cllr Peter Scott descried this year’s problems, with Storm Ciara closely followed by Storm Dennis as a “two in nine days event”.

Making reference to Spring Gardens Caravan park in St Asaph, which flooded during the storms, he added: “I don’t know how you work the numbers out.”

Mr Ivens explained the rate of flow of the water in the River Clwyd through St Asaph during the storms.

He said: “In Storm Ciara we saw 230 tonnes of water every second. In Dennis it was about 140 tonnes of water every second.

“There is always the probability that we could receive a flow that’s greater than the the flow that scheme was designed to protect.”

The committee heard how sea defence work in east Rhyl was well underway and further work in central Rhyl and Prestatyn was being planned.

Two schemes, at Rhyl and Prestatyn cuts, are being developed as is an £800,000 scheme to mitigate flood risks in Ffordd Derwen in Rhyl.

A flood risk management scheme for Dyserth has hit a snag because part of it involves a main river, which is under NRW’s jurisdiction and discussions are ongoing to resolve it.

A Welsh Government grant of £1m has been secured by Denbighshire council for “Natural Flood Management” but a decision hasn’t been made on where that will take place, so consultants are being engaged to develop the scheme.

Councillors agreed to set up a task and finish group to look at flooding issues across the county and resolved that a report on the Rhyl and Prestatyn cut schemes would come to scrutiny next year.