honitonhobbit Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 Hi Folks Just a little heads up - hence the International Section As you may know we have a few water issues in Somerset at the moment Some of our less than thoughtful brethren in the 4x4 world have taken to going out to drive the roads flooded by the incompetence of the EA (bit political there) That's fine... except it isn't. It's thoughtless and stupid. You see flooded road networks often pass through villages, or past property or businesses. Even where they pass by farmland there is an issue. That issue comes form the bow wave formed when you drive deep water. It spreads the water, doing more damage. It's not appreciated. Using the roads whilst flooded also causes damage to the road bed, which will cost money and time to fix Added to which in my local area a bunch of half wit inbreeds have decided that driving over the temporary flood defences is a laugh. It's not. Nor is it clever or macho. It's pathetic and illegal (trespass laws) I know that no one on this forum is that stupid, but if you do know someone who is then please tell them to stop, or even better report them to the police so they get charged... Alternatively the locals have had enough, so accidents may start happening - something we don't really want Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonr Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 I agree! When we had the last lot of 'once in a thousand years' flooding a couple of years ago, I had an idea which would lend itself (possibly) to draining the Levels - as all the water will need to be pumped out, which is a big project! The idea was to use a venturi fed by a jet engine to suck the water and either spray it over a barrier, or possibly blow it along a pipe a short distance. I talked to someone at the EA then, but they said they couldn't think of a use for such a device! At the time the TV was showing dozens of fire engines pumping water over a dyke that had breached somewhere. It's a bit beyond me to build - I don't have any jet engines sat in my back yard at the moment, but it would be cool to try! Si Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
honitonhobbit Posted January 27, 2014 Author Share Posted January 27, 2014 Si The EA reside on another planet so any common sense ideas will get the knock back... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRecklessEngineer Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 As far as I'm aware, it's actually the rivers that are the limiting factor in how fast the levels can be drained. So without building more canals/rivers/building up the sides etc we're pretty limited in how fast the water can be moved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRecklessEngineer Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 The idea was to use a venturi fed by a jet engine to suck the water and either spray it over a barrier, or possibly blow it along a pipe a short distance. I talked to someone at the EA then, but they said they couldn't think of a use for such a device! At the time the TV was showing dozens of fire engines pumping water over a dyke that had breached somewhere. You might be interested to know that this approach is used on ships. Only we have pumps to drive ejectors in case of flooding rather than jet engines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
honitonhobbit Posted January 27, 2014 Author Share Posted January 27, 2014 It is the rivers that are the limiting factor - they haven't been dredged in 30 years and are down to 42% capacity due to silting up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 It is the rivers that are the limiting factor - they haven't been dredged in 30 years and are down to 42% capacity due to silting up Ahh but think of all the money they've saved in those 30 years! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigelw Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 Solution is to spend some wedge and dredge It is a shame but as the nice county councils are hell bent on closing any legal byways and limiting off road play then the macho moron types will play where and when they can. Sorry but that's the way it goes, not condoning it but JMHO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickeyw Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 The problem is compounded in our area by developers building on the flood plains, despite huge concerns from locals that know exactly where flooding occurs EVERY winter, never mind in the 1:1000 year extremes. It seems however that the developers thought they'd be clever, and build their new homes on vast raised levels of ground. Consequently ancient farm houses and other properties that have never flooded before, have been near destroyed this winter. I drove though flood water up to my bumper to evacuate one such unfortunate family on Dec 24th. They had 6" of water in the ground floor of their home. That was after driving through near bonnet depths to get my mother to A&E on the same day. Emergency services were completely immobilised, so it really was a case of help ones self as best you can. I agree that driving unnecessarily through flood water can do all sorts of damage to property. Unfortunately there are also countless morons in normal cars who believe that hitting the water at launch speeds will get them through. On the above mentioned trip to A&E we witnessed one car race through a flooded section, creating a splash higher that the car. I'm sure the occupants of the car were impressed that they made it through, however the poor woman wading through the water, with her hands full of shopping bags can't have been happy to get completely drowned! If I hadn't had my mother on board, I feel I would have been inclined to stop them and inform them of their lack of consideration The flood levels we have seen in the last month exceeded those of 1968, the previous all time high in our area. It's about time the EA woke up and joined forces with locals campaigning against poorly conceived developments. It's all very well flood proofing new builds, but the impact to the existing environment seems to have been completely ignored. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heath robinson Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 Developers money always seems to push aside considered objection. We've seen it in cornwall near my parents place, where the council had to stump up hundreds of thousands for flood defences to defend homes built quickly, poorly, and in a stupid place. That and the fact that second-homeowners buy old cottages on the edge of floodplanes from families that have lived there long enough to understand how to cope. They put expensive rugs and carpets over stone floors, and posh fitted furniture, so when it floods a bit, instead of just going upstairs, they raise merry hell with the council, and demand flood protection. If you can't stand water, mud, and the smell of farming, bugger off out of the countryside!Sorry, that might have been a little rant there, touched a nerve somewhat. On the up side, I saw some prat in a newish disco near Othery driving down a flooded lane fairly soak a woman on her bike, only to miss a change in the road's direction, thus ending up with one side of the car fairly well submerged in the roadside dyke! The woman seemed to think that this was just about right, and so did I! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muddy Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 If you can't stand water, mud, and the smell of farming, bugger off out of the countryside!I! Perfectly put! Will. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dailysleaze Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 If you can't stand water, mud, and the smell of farming, bugger off out of the countryside! Well said. Too many people move to the country and try to make it just like London. There has been a change in policy in recent times to not spend money on trying to defend against nature. You will not win in the long run. E.g. money spent on carting beaches down the east coast to protect homes, to see it being washed back up by longshore drift. How's that not a waste of money? Hundreds of years ago the Somerset levels were a tidal marsh. Man conquered it by draining them and turning it into farmland but you can't beat nature. Less has been spent on dredging the rivers as it has proven ineffective for the sorts of rain that cause flooding anyway. Better off not spending the money in the first place. Everyone that buys a house these days gets a sheet of paper detailing that property's flood risk. It's up to the homeowner to judge that risk. Take the village of Muchelney, the -ey suffix denotes "island" in Old English. Of all the old villages that we've seen flooding of, the church that's been there hundreds of years never gets flooded. Funny that! Building on flood plains is stupid. It all comes back to population growth. Don't worry it'll snow next year and we can all have a go about that again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heath robinson Posted January 28, 2014 Share Posted January 28, 2014 On the subject of not fighting against nature, might I recommend to anyone interested in how water works (eg everything ffrom how to get rivers to stay in the right place to how to design super-efficient turbines) the work of an Austrian guy called Viktor Schauberger. He had a fascinating view on how we interact with water - that we commonly use explosive force, eg the water is pushing against things, be it a turbine blade or a river bank. He suggests that water is far more powerful used as an IMplosive force - pulling the water around a corner, or using the centre of a vortex to pull a turbine round. It's not immediately germaine to the flooding of the levels, but his (proven) ideas about altering river flow also encompass using the water's flow to remove silt buildup automatically. Just thought someone might find his stuff interesting! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heath robinson Posted January 28, 2014 Share Posted January 28, 2014 Othery is the same, litterally an island at the moment! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pollywog Posted January 28, 2014 Share Posted January 28, 2014 I blame the new flood defences that have been built in recent years. They've spent millions here in Worcestershire building defences to protect riverside towns such as Upton & Pershore and fine they work for those towns but the water has to go somewhere and ultimately it is compounding the problem further down river..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bishbosh Posted January 29, 2014 Share Posted January 29, 2014 I live on a hill :) Now where's my coat....? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve King Posted January 29, 2014 Share Posted January 29, 2014 Quite agree: irresponsible driving on flooded roads causes more damage and just stirs up the Richard the Thirds and other wonderful stuff in floodwater! If you want to drive in floodwater and do something useful then join your local 4x4 response group. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Landowner Posted January 29, 2014 Share Posted January 29, 2014 Heard Cameron say today that they would dredge the waterways after the water level goes down Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missingsid Posted January 30, 2014 Share Posted January 30, 2014 Army to be called with specialist vehicles, the best army specialist vehicle could be the Alvis Stalwart, where are the owners of these swimable delivery trucks surely if LR rescue clubs an help these owners can too? On the down line flooding, I agree, Maidenhead spent millions on flood protection of the rich riverside hose owners (Maidenhead is the rare Thames town NOT originally built beside the Thames due to flooding) now the flood water hits Staines instead. Whatever happens I hope for a betterresolution for these affected people as soon as possible. Marc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrRob Posted January 30, 2014 Share Posted January 30, 2014 New surface water flood risk maps online: http://watermaps.environment-agency.gov.uk/wiyby/wiyby.aspx?topic=ufmfsw#x=357683&y=355134&scale=2 Plus the link to the other maps: http://maps.environment-agency.gov.uk/wiyby/wiybyController?ep=maptopics〈=_e These are the maps that are used in searches when house purchasing. Always done my own research rather than relying on anybody else. Comes from being a scientist! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve King Posted January 30, 2014 Share Posted January 30, 2014 New surface water flood risk maps online: http://watermaps.environment-agency.gov.uk/wiyby/wiyby.aspx?topic=ufmfsw#x=357683&y=355134&scale=2 Plus the link to the other maps: http://maps.environment-agency.gov.uk/wiyby/wiybyController?ep=maptopics〈=_e These are the maps that are used in searches when house purchasing. Always done my own research rather than relying on anybody else. Comes from being a scientist! Working in insurance has its advantages - I can enter a postcode in a database and it tells me the flood risk, subsidence risk and the crime rate! I used this a lot when I moved out of London a couple of years ago!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missingsid Posted January 30, 2014 Share Posted January 30, 2014 New surface water flood risk maps online: http://watermaps.environment-agency.gov.uk/wiyby/wiyby.aspx?topic=ufmfsw#x=357683&y=355134&scale=2 Plus the link to the other maps: http://maps.environment-agency.gov.uk/wiyby/wiybyController?ep=maptopics〈=_e These are the maps that are used in searches when house purchasing. Always done my own research rather than relying on anybody else. Comes from being a scientist! Useful site thanks, local council is looking at new housing near me and I thought it was flood plain for my area. This site shows that it is and I need the council to consider what will happen to the run off if they build 700 houses there! Marc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoffbeaumont Posted February 3, 2014 Share Posted February 3, 2014 New surface water flood risk maps online: http://watermaps.environment-agency.gov.uk/wiyby/wiyby.aspx?topic=ufmfsw#x=357683&y=355134&scale=2 Plus the link to the other maps: http://maps.environment-agency.gov.uk/wiyby/wiybyController?ep=maptopics〈=_e These are the maps that are used in searches when house purchasing. Always done my own research rather than relying on anybody else. Comes from being a scientist! Looking at that, much of the area that's currently flooded on the Somerset levels and moors is ranked as very low risk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
honitonhobbit Posted February 4, 2014 Author Share Posted February 4, 2014 My dad, bless him, has his property marked on various insurance and EA maps as a flood risk. It's because he's not 100 yards from the Wye. What the EA and their little friends fail to look at on the OS map is the fact that he's 230 feet above the river! Every year it's the same damned argument with the insurance company... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigelw Posted February 4, 2014 Share Posted February 4, 2014 My place should be considered a flood risk, we are probably 300ft above local river which is a mile and a half away, but this was my place Christmas day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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