COUNTY Hall is planning to map every drain on Canvey as a way to deal more effectively with flooding.

The news comes after water had to be pumped from scores of roads which were submerged when the island’s storm drains failed to cope with torrential downpours last August, October and December.

The major joint Essex County Council, Anglian Water and Environment Agency project will hunt out and map all the island’s drains to allay fears some may not be linked to the main drainage system.

The Canvey Island Integrated Urban Drainage Project, will assess how much water each drain can handle and identify areas which need improvement.

County Hall has already spent three weeks surveying drains along the seafront, an area badly affected last year.

Highway workers have also cleared drains along Furtherwick Road, Eastern Esplanade and Western Esplanade and used CCTV cameras to look for blockages and damage.

County councillor Ray Howard said the council was making significant headway on the problem.

He explained: “There are places where we have been very successful, such as St Michael’s Road, but we know there are still roads which have to be sorted out, such as Clinton Road.

“That is why this project is so important. It will go through all the details of how all the pumping stations are working and how water is getting from the dykes into the main rivers.

“We also have to raise awareness that when people throw their rubbish out their car windows, it can end up in ditches and drains and that stops a lot of water being drained away. We have to tackle this problem.”

Since last September, the county council has fixed 467 drain problems reported either by residents, or by council inspectors.

Mr Howard added: “Residents should be encouraged to know we are on it.

“A lot of work is going on behind the scenes. I hope the next time we have a heavy downpour, residents will really see the difference.”