Argyll and Bute Council, which upgraded the system, has said the new drainage was installed to ‘mitigate the effects of severe weather’, however following heavy rain last Thursday and Friday, some residents sent the Advertiser images of the surface water.

The local authority is responsible for emptying the gullies to keep the drains clear – with CHORD contractors maintaining gullies in areas of construction work – however the annual budget of gully emptying in Helensburgh and Lomond has already been blown in the first quarter of the financial year.

Stacey-Louise Coyle sent an image of the water at East Princes Street to the Advertiser and joked: “Well looks like the new drainage is working well in the new streets of Helensburgh.” A spokesman for Argyll and Bute Council said: “The council has installed new drainage in Helensburgh to mitigate the effects of severe weather. This includes a new pipe which discharges surface water directly in to the sea, reducing the amount of water going in to the combined system.

“Other drainage improvements include the installation of non-return valves in the combined drainage system which ensure that any backflow of fouled water is mitigated against as far as possible.

“The CHORD area is a working site; completed areas are maintained by the council, with areas where construction work is still under way being the responsibility of the contractor.” At a recent meeting of the Helensburgh and Lomond Area Committee, councillors heard the annual budget for gully emptying in Helensburgh and Lomond had been blown in the first quarter of the financial year.

Elected members were presented with a report and heard an estimated £41,000 has been spent on the service.

Stewart Clark, the council’s roads performance manager, said the overspend with the gullies means it would have to look at other things they do, and do ‘less of something else’.

Councillor Robert MacIntyre praised the efforts of the council workers in clearing the gullies, which he says are key in keeping the roads clear of water and debris.

Overall, councillors heard 27 per cent of the entire roads revenue budget had been spent the first quarter of financial year 2014/15, in line with expectations.

The roads maintenance budget for the 2014/15 year (excluding winter maintenance and coastal protection) is £4,145,227. Spend at the end of the first quarter of the financial year is £1,103,886; this equates to a 27 per cent spend, with 73 per cent remaining for the last three quarters.

The spokesman added: “Ultimately resources will be deployed where they are required to meet the needs of our communities.”