ROSS Rowing Club made a quick recovery after being flooded this month, thanks to its recent £400,000 refurbishment including flood resilient measures.

It was a challenging start to the New Year when the clubhouse flooded on January 4 as the River Wye peaked at 4.81m. 

But the improvements since the  2019/20 floods showed their worth, as club members rallied round and were able to clear up within a vouple of days. 

During the rebuild the emphasis was to make the building more resilient to flooding rather than making it flood proof. 

The club worked with their insurers, the NFU and loss adjuster to refurbish using materials that would not be damaged in the event of further flooding, replacing wooden studwork and plasterboard with block and render. 

Club chairman, Jonathan Preece ,and Facilities Director, Torsten Pope, were keen to see how well the building stood up to the deluge and canoed out across the Rope Walk to assess the situation and plan for the clear up. 

Fortunately, there was little damage inside and the flood resilient measures had paid off. 

Torsten said: “Once the club was accessible on foot, members were quick to get down and clean down the clubhouse, wash mud from the carpark and clear flood debris from the grounds. 

“Experience from the last few years has taught us to ensure that anything that can float is either high up or tied down! In 2022, we fitted a new sewage system connecting the club to the town main drains and replaced the septic tank fitted in the 1970s. 

“The new system is much better for the environment and was completed with the generous financial support from local business, Haigh Group, and significant technical support from MPC, a Haigh subsidiary. 

“By installing the new system, the club’s drainage was able to function once the flood levels dropped, and the Club was fully operational 72 hours after the flood peaked. 

“We are very grateful to Nigel Shepherd, Chairman of Haigh Group and former Ross RC President and for his family’s support over many years.”