Floods in the UK

I found this really interesting because I'm a fookin nerd. Interesting enough to fookin circulate.

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It has rained so much up here in the last few weeks that the flood relief trench, built to stop the Thames from flooding large areas of expensive houses, is now in danger of flooding as well as the river itself!   

Sewage system needs huge upgrade but water companies wont do it. Ruvers need dredging properly.

What works in one place won't work in another. I laughed to see the new pumps the envirostapo have installed on the Somerset levels. They are trying to drain an area that has flooded for millennia with pumps that move seven tonnes of water a minute, yet the water table has flooded and there are six hundred hectares under about four foot of water. Getting all the primary school children out with buckets would be as effective. If it weren't for new housing it wouldn't be a problem, it's summer grazing on the moors there and the silt will enrich the soil and the grass, in the meantime let the ducks and geese have it and think of a nice roast.

Precisely, The Somerset levels has always been a natural floodplain and people would do well to live elsewhere.

I'm hatching a plan with Brent to buy all the hills, we shall then fence them all off and just sit there gloating.

And back to the Somerset levels the dredging was carried out post war to improve food production, now that we import most of our food from overseas we don't need to dredge, or do we? Complicated.

planting trees along contours is an established permaculture practice. (capture and store energy- a permaculture principle) this will work on any hillside, Im just surprised its taken so long to get into the mainstream media. this is part of what i do when i redesign farms. fantastic- maybe i'll get some more work from this!!

Great stuff Mapperly. Many people don't understand just how clever and sustaining many older systems were.. They don't even understand trees are actually stored sun energy that cost nothing, acting as night storage heaters in effect for 50 years down the line when it gets released, rather more sustainable than fossil reserves.

A couple of friends fell in one of their rhynes a while back while re-enacting the Monmouth rebellion. A strange bunch up there.

We live in one of the most densely populated countries in the world where we have more concrete and man made water repellent surfaces than any other and the cost of this man made ground cover is paid via flooding.

Debatable, but for the first time in history we are unable to be food independent and we now have to take from others. We are eating into farmland to lay more man made water repellent ground cover that will in turn dramatically increase flooding. What we are seeing at the moment is just the start.

Nature doesn't listen to political debate.

Mock Cuncher wrote:

I found this really interesting because I'm a fookin nerd. Interesting enough to fookin circulate.

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Fascinating stuff, Mockers. Thanks, I found that really interesting.

Person Of Interest wrote:

Mock Cuncher wrote:

I found this really interesting because I'm a fookin nerd. Interesting enough to fookin circulate.

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Fascinating stuff, Mockers. Thanks, I found that really interesting.

No wuzza.

P'raps it oughta be printed ait an pinned on the front door of every poor fecker's gaffe whose home has been flooded.

Nah actually, me an my mate from UKIP have found the real reason for the floods - homosexuals.

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Jesus wept...

the floods are jesus' tears?

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Thanks Mock,

that was very interesting and makes perfect sense to me and I haven't got a degree in land management. Neither has that idiot Owen Paterson.

His latest brain storm of an idea to allow developers to destroy some of the very small amounts of ancient forest and woodland left in this country as long as the developers " offset" this destruction by planting more trees elsewhere is one of the most laughable ideas to come out of the mouth of a politician for years. Lets face it politicians are experts at ridiculous ideas. Destroy 500 year old woodland, plant more trees down the road and then let developers destroy them a few years later.

I've got a good mind to copy that article to my local MP asking for his comments.

The term "ancient woodland" seems to have passed them by, you only get ancient woodland by waiting 500 years or so hence it is irreplaceable without the 500 year wait.

Richard Blight wrote:

I haven't got a degree in land management. Neither has that idiot Owen Paterson.

But Prince William has (or will have shortly) thanks to his entirely justified (  ) admission to Cambridge University. Perhaps he could head-up the UK's flood response team.

Apparently the syllabus is pretty comprehensive...

How to bale hay:
Point at hay and say "Simmons, bale that will you."

How to harvest wheat:
Point at field and say "Jenkins, reap that will you."

How to manage land profitably:
Point at computer and say "Taylor, fill out those EU subsidy forms will you"

bjorn_yesterday wrote:

Richard Blight wrote:

I haven't got a degree in land management. Neither has that idiot Owen Paterson.

But Prince William has (or will have shortly) thanks to his entirely justified (  ) admission to Cambridge University. Perhaps he could head-up the UK's flood response team.

Apparently the syllabus is pretty comprehensive...

How to bale hay:
Point at hay and say "Simmons, bale that will you."

How to harvest wheat:
Point at field and say "Jenkins, reap that will you."

How to manage land profitably:
Point at computer and say "Taylor, fill out those EU subsidy forms will you"

I can actually see him taking this sort of approach to his farm labourers

I've seen the big-eared boys on farms

all those in somerset complaining you live on a flood plain deal with it

Richard Blight wrote:

Thanks Mock,

that was very interesting and makes perfect sense to me and I haven't got a degree in land management. Neither has that idiot Owen Paterson.

His latest brain storm of an idea to allow developers to destroy some of the very small amounts of ancient forest and woodland left in this country as long as the developers " offset" this destruction by planting more trees elsewhere is one of the most laughable ideas to come out of the mouth of a politician for years. Lets face it politicians are experts at ridiculous ideas. Destroy 500 year old woodland, plant more trees down the road and then let developers destroy them a few years later.

I've got a good mind to copy that article to my local MP asking for his comments.

My aunt got flooded in Dorset this year. First thing she did.   

Davidfriio4 wrote:

all those in somerset complaining you live on a flood plain deal with it

Half the UK is flood plain ffs.

  

There is a huge problem with developers being allowed to build on it though Mockers. The houses that you can see on the other side of the M5 by the services are a good case in point, they flooded badly last year the Water was about 3 or 4 feet deep. There were people from the news saying how this was a once in two hundred year flood but my old man said that it flooded badly there in the sixties, seventies, eighties and nineties, in short it's always flooded there. Along come Wimpeys or someone and make a few million building houses, feck off with the profits then we all have to stump up for flood defence schemes for places that shouldn't have houses built on anyway. The Somerset levels are a good case in point, it will always flood the fact that it is now populated by doctors, solicitors and health service middle management means that we will all have to she'll out so the wankers can drive their Audis and Beemers into Bristol to get to work. Let the fookers drown I say if it was a rural populace living there they would only get sympathy.

Next to the sea, throughout history, rivers have always been the most important managed resource, and managed they have been, poorly at times. No matter what this present bunch say, rivers are always treated with the political priority of the day. In the Middle East it's the Jordan river. There the losers are the down streamers, the poor Palestinians, as the Isreali state sucks up most of the available water without a by your leave. Charming.
You're right iggy, old communities and their farms have to suffer for profit making house building in the wrong place on flood plains.( Note to oneself ... must check up the flood potential on the proposed Northampton FC waterside 300 home project. Another ex banker filling his boots on the back of a football club )
And yet governments of all persuasion insist they are now going to just let nature take it's course. Total lies of course, and their policies show where their priorities lie. The budget cuts aren't affecting the huge maintenance money being spent on the Thames Flood barrier I see, nor will they. Double standards. Private wealth, public squalour is the new deal.

the nene floods regularly down the hill from northampton. from memory i believe the river is willow lined along that section, but even that doesnt stop it flooding. we should be building in the hills in readiness for the great flood as the ice melts in greenland and the antarctic