Bridge, including those who resisted the initial evacuation.
Speaking about critical efforts to reduce the water levels, Mr Tomlinson told The Independent: “There was
five times more water going into the reservoir – from rain and inlets – than we could pump out on Thursday
night, so it was a uniquely critical situation. We’ve now got ahead of that curve. There are always points
where you fear it is about to go, but that’s why we have the safety precautions in place.”
Asked if the consequences of failure – the deluge of up to 600 homes – have played on his mind, he said:
“They have to. That’s why we had to deal with it as quickly as possible. It’s all hands to the pump.”
And, while he said good progress had been made to secure the 180-year-old reservoir, he added : “We are
not out the woods yet. We will keep going. These crews do not stop until they achieve what they need to
achieve. It’s a unique situation and it’s taken a lot of effort and a lot of teamwork.”
He said that crews had reduced the reservoir’s water levels from maximum capacity to 65 per cent – but
engineers said it needed to be down to about 25 per cent before it could be considered safe.
And he revealed, for the first time, the sheer logistical challenges of the operation. Workers had to build,
from scratch, a 50-metre road to the reservoir and footbridges over pumping equipment, as well as creating
a temporary headquarters – complete with gas stoves – for resting firefighters.
Twenty-three vast pumps were brought in from as far as South Wales and the West Midlands to help the
effort, while RAF Chinooks dropped 400 sandbags to secure the integrity of the collapsing wall itself.
Some 150 firefighters, as well as dozens of engineers, police officers, council staff and volunteers, have been
involved in the operation to secure the dam.
In other developments yesterday, police halted an operation which had allowed evacuated residents to
return home for 15 minutes to collect essentials. They said the new storm forecasts made more returns
unsafe.
And, in the nearby town of Marple, the army was deployed amid fears the River Goyt could overflow as
excess reservoir water is pumped into it.
A public meeting held yesterday afternoon at nearby Chapel-en-le-Frith High School – the makeshift
evacuation centre during the emergency – told the roughly 1,500 displaced residents they would probably
not be allowed back home until Friday at the earliest.