Water, Water Everywhere...

[FishingMagic]

This is a dedicated thread for discussing article: Water, Water Everywhere...

 

[tiinker]

We are not the only ones who are getting floods a friend of mine has a fishery in south west France and the towns and cities in his area are all getting flooded he sent some news photos of his area in France and it looks bad. Evidently parts of Portugal are suffering from serious flooding as well, so it is very wide spread.

 

[richiekelly]

I am ok, I live on top of a hill, shame for the others though.

 

[barbelboi]

For the flood affected Somerset folk they’ve written a new song to raise money for ‘FloodAid’ – ‘Trouble over Bridgewater.’...............

 

[dorsetandchub]

Keep telling you you should take more water with it, Jerry.......

 

[MarkTheSpark]

Well said, Mr Sturdy. I agree with every word. As for that fat g1t Pickles disgracefully criticising the EA when all it's done is offered the benefit of its science and followed rules laid down by central government, I think that confirmed that Pickles is a show-boating twerp.

 

[The bad one]

Whilst some of what is written by Mr Sturdy is correct, there are some inaccuracies in it. It’s also yet another not very subtle attempt to convince people on here to join the ATr. When will he ever learn mg:

To correct some of the inaccuracies he’s made, Taunton is up river from the flooded areas of the Levels (Moorlands) on the R Tone and has suffered a 7.4 increase in population over the last 10 years (ONS info) As is Yeovil and has had the same population increase. Ergo housing development has taken place in the towns to reflect the population increase and added to the rivers load through land run off.

Local Councils giving permission for development on floodplains they do without doubt do that, but are reliant on the Experts on flooding and that is the EA. Part of my living is made from objecting to inappropriate planning applications on behalf of communities and I can tell you as fact that the EA do not as a statutory consultees object to PAs for development on floodplains. Even though the possibility/probability is a serious Material Matter in planning law. If they don’t make an objection to a floodplain application then the planning officers and committee have very few grounds for refusal because of potential flooding risk.
The EA needs to take its finger from up its ar** and start to unequivocally object to such applications. Give the planning officers and committees the tools to do the job of refusal.

The Govt is not considering giving farmer the right to do DIY dredging they have done it and are running pilots in 9 areas. Keep up!

We don’t have a coherent national water plan. Correct we don’t, but you need to think about that one a little further before you throw out generalisations like that. Thanks to the rain every reservoir and aquifer if full to capacity nationally! So to increase capacity still further it means building more reservoirs or a national water transfer system and all the inherent environmental and ecological problems identified over many years associated with both. Oh and wouldn’t the privatised water Cos love that way of printing money for it shareholder eh!

 

[itsfishingnotcatching]

While not having the level of information TBO has relating to this two things strike me. Firstly I was generally in agreement with the comments made by Mr Sturdy until the reference to joining the ATr in his final sentence which would in my opinion have absolutely no effect on the current circumstances.
Secondly, the EA is greatly influenced by the politicians who fund it and if it is true it has made no efforts to stop building on flood plains then it is at least partly to blame for the current situation. As with the uncontrolled discharge of sewage, no doubt flowing into the Thames as I write, it shows the true effectiveness of our "Environment" Agency.

 

[theartist]

Theres got to be someone to blame nowadays despite it being down to the weather. There's been an unprecidented level of rain.

I found it a bit disappointing that a woman interviewed in her car on the news said overseas aid should be spent on the floods. Whilst its not nice whats happening to people's home and cars i'm sure some starving folk in the third world would jump at the chance of a riverside property along the Thames.

Perspective is needed . I turn off the sound on the news now as i know theyre going to talk to someone who's after blood rather than get balanced comments.

 

[geoffmaynard]

As someone who can now claim to own a riverside property on the Thames - it wasn't riverside until a few days ago - does this mean that my property value has increased by 50% ?
Rod mentions this in the article. "Central government has not helped by subsidising insurance in such areas." Have they? Why don't I know about this! I'm paying 2K year for insurance, all down to my postcode as usual. Am I eligible for a subsidy, if so who should I apply to?

 

[The bad one]

As someone who can now claim to own a riverside property on the Thames - it wasn't riverside until a few days ago - does this mean that my property value has increased by 50% ?
Rod mentions this in the article. "Central government has not helped by subsidising insurance in such areas." Have they? Why don't I know about this! I'm paying 2K year for insurance, all down to my postcode as usual. Am I eligible for a subsidy, if so who should I apply to?

Well Goff you will live in Henley "in" Thames And I don't want to depress you further, but you may be finding the other property is going to be renamed as Hey "in" Wye according to the flooding predictions.

---------- Post added at 15:04 ---------- Previous post was at 14:41 ----------

Compare and contrast Charlse Clovers piece here http://www.fishingmagic.com/forums/...eta-s-not-unlearn-lessons-about-dredging.html to Mr Sturdy's efforts. You'll then get my drift.

 

[cg74]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7RIgs3eygo]Wur Doomed, Entombed & Marooned... - YouTube[/ame]

 

[no-one in particular]

One of the bigger questions maybe, whats caused this. Apparently its a kink in the jet stream high above the earth. This kink is sucking all the low pressures coming across the Atlantic right over southern England. Normally they sweep past the country and disperse them selves elsewhere over a wider area. So, is this kink just an anomaly? Will it appear next year or any other year in the near future? Be interesting to see what the scientist make of it but, it could be just a one-off !

Regarding the flood, I expect there will be a lot of talk, and not much done. It will go away, the clean up will happen. The Government will be seen to do some dredging on a few rivers where the flooding is worst. Purely because this will be popular as the electorate seem to think it is the only answer and it is probably one of the cheaper options.

 

[Dave Smith]

One of the bigger questions maybe, whats caused this. Apparently its a kink in the jet stream high above the earth. This kink is sucking all the low pressures coming across the Atlantic right over southern England. Normally they sweep past the country and disperse them selves elsewhere over a wider area. So, is this kink just an anomaly? Will it appear next year or any other year in the near future? Be interesting to see what the scientist make of it but, it could be just a one-off !

Regarding the flood, I expect there will be a lot of talk, and not much done. It will go away, the clean up will happen. The Government will be seen to do some dredging on a few rivers where the flooding is worst. Purely because this will be popular as the electorate seem to think it is the only answer and it is probably one of the cheaper options.

Markg
The reason behind the succession of storms is the brutal winter in the USA and Canada and the massive temperature difference between the very cold air over the land area and the higher than normal sea surface temperatures its called Cyclogenesis, These are then carried along the route of the jet stream and unfortunately this year it is over or just to the south of us.

Would love to know where Rod Sturdy gets "highlighted the reality of climate change", the Global temperature has not risen in 17years 5 month (depending on which data series is used) even the Met Office admits to this see here
The recent pause in warming - Met Office :wh

Next bit of nonsense"London-Penzance railway line, which is virtually in the sea at low tide even before a storm brews.UTTER *******S lets see a picture of a section of the railway at low tide..see here
http://s0.geograph.org.uk/geophotos/02/80/59/2805915_308fa347.jpg now if Rod wants to travel down there and jump off the top of that wall i'll pop down and wait with my mobile and call the ambulance.

As for dredging well its always has served the Levels and since the stopping of dredging by the EA in the early 90's!! well here we are farms and house's flooded out ,now I am not saying even with dredging flooding wouldn't occurred it would just not to the degree it has! dredging is not a yearly occurrence, once done it should not be done for many years to come (depending on surrounding land use) and rivers do recover if dredging was/is so destructive how come we yearn to have fishing like our fathers and grandfather days...when dredging was a common sight??. question is what come first businesses, home, farms or wetland habitat, bird sanctuary's

 

[geoffmaynard]

Would love to know where Rod Sturdy gets "highlighted the reality of climate change"

So are you in DeNile too Davie? Coz we need a new Environment minister

 

[Dave Smith]

So are you in DeNile too Davie? Coz we need a new Environment minister

Good one, no I am in Devonthe environment minster is doing fine,and the climate is always changing slowing and inexorably towards a glacial or interglacial, never stable and always in total chaos,
Its only the uber PC eco-mentalists who think you can stop climate change, And are generally running around like "headless chickens"mg:

 

[soft plastic]

One of the bigger questions maybe, whats caused this. Apparently its a kink in the jet stream high above the earth. This kink is sucking all the low pressures coming across the Atlantic right over southern England. Normally they sweep past the country and disperse them selves elsewhere over a wider area. So, is this kink just an anomaly? Will it appear next year or any other year in the near future? Be interesting to see what the scientist make of it but, it could be just a one-off !

Regarding the flood, I expect there will be a lot of talk, and not much done. It will go away, the clean up will happen. The Government will be seen to do some dredging on a few rivers where the flooding is worst. Purely because this will be popular as the electorate seem to think it is the only answer and it is probably one of the cheaper options.

It's not a one off. Remember last Spring? We had freezing North Easterlies for week after week. The position of the jet stream(further South than normal) was blamed then as well.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk

 

[Dave Smith]

It's not a one off. Remember last Spring? We had freezing North Easterlies for week after week. The position of the jet stream(further South than normal) was blamed then as well.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk

Correct, just high pressure to the North East of the UK happens in winter! great shame about the extra 30,000 plus pensioners that died because they couldn't afford to heat their homes though.

 

[bennygesserit]

@ The bad one

Are you saying the EA are consulted on planning matters and are not objecting or there is no statuary need to consult them? Or are they under instruction to waive developments through?
You can imagine a directive to the EA re green energy and hydro but not relating to flood plains.

---------- Post added at 22:15 ---------- Previous post was at 22:13 ----------

Sorry just free read your post so there is a statuary consultation

 

[The bad one]

It’s irksome somewhat to see dredging of the rivers by the EA being used as the panacea to the ills of the Levels or anywhere else for that matter, by locals and every pundit the media can throw at it. Including that little git Paul Daniels on This Week last night. It isn’t and can’t simple as!
What those on the Levels aren’t asking is what is the Hydraulic Total Capacity (HTC) of the Levels before flooding will happen? And is “everybody” playing a part in maintaining that HTC, including those who have the responsibility to maintain the ditches and dikes on their land, which aren’t the responsibility of the EA, but theirs?

Clearly they are not from what this guy is saying who has studied professional the hydrology of the Levels for many years.
Floods on the Somerset Levels: a sad tale of ignorance and neglect - International Water Power

And as the saying goes, “Attack and blame someone else for your own failings!”

---------- Post added at 02:15 ---------- Previous post was at 01:45 ----------

Benny yes I am saying the EA do not make formal written objections to PAs on Floodplains. Where I've seen them make a comment, which isn't that often, the wording is at best nebulous and ambiguous.

It was interesting tonight on Question Time from Scunthorpe the local Council has given planning consent for a major housing development on a floodplain. I can state with some confidence, that if I searched the planning portal and the local Planning Officer’s report to the planning committee for determination, if they have made a comment, it would be as I’ve stated.
Nebulous and ambiguous comments is no longer good enough regarding this kind of developments, they need to be clear and unambiguous with a formal objection to these developments.