FLOODING is never far from the collective memory of this city, especially after the devastating deluge of three years ago.

This is even so in a year when we have enjoyed one of the driest, sunniest summers on record. The unstable weather we seem to have these days, with wetter and stormier bursts in autumn and winter, makes everyone aware that potentially we are never too far from the rising waters.

Householders in York who live in undefended areas close to the River Ouse will be alarmed by Labour claims that they have little hope of gaining flood defences for more than a decade.

This certainly sounds worrying and people will be angry to learn that no extra flood protection is going to be built for such a long time.

Behind these headline concerns, the picture seems to be more complicated. The Environment Agency maintains that it is working on reducing the flooding risk for everybody by taking action upstream. It has conducted a three-year computer study of the Ouse catchment area, and will now spend a further 18 months studying these findings.

As matters stand, work on protecting the undefended areas in York, such as parts of Clementhorpe, South Esplanade and Fulford, may not begin until 2010. That is seven years and not ten, as maintained by councillors. The current study could bring the work forward or push it back.

Whenever work begins, if indeed it is deemed necessary, there is a worrying element of gamble in the present approach. To those who fear their homes could be flooded again, seven years is a long time to wait.

Clementhorpe, for example, has been flooded three times in 21 years. The chances of further flooding in seven years would seem to be fairly high.

Why not do the work now, while the tide is out, rather than waiting for the waters to rise once more?

Updated: 10:03 Tuesday, November 18, 2003