If you live on a flood plain-
 

Shouldn't you expect you may get flooded now and again?
When you do should you complain it's all someone else's fault or accept it as a risk you took.
Shouldn't you build your homes on the higher ground or on raised foundations? Even the Stone Age people knew to do that.
Or live somewhere else?

The Somerset Levels have been known as a flood plain for thousands of years. A lot of it is below high tide level and was only used in Summer as it was always flooded all winter. Without constant pumping it would be the same now.

You don't hear Eric or Turtle complaining their government hasn't done anything about the cold or dottie the same about the heat. It's nature- live with it or move!

It's sad for these people but what do they expect?

Re: If you live on a flood plain-
 

Agree Gordon, But to me the main fault lies with Governments/Councils etc they have consistently allowed "New Housing Stock" to be built in them, Its much easier fer authority to say "NO" than ordinary folk to sell n move imho.

Re: If you live on a flood plain-
 

Try telling that to the Dutch :D

The difference is that the Somerset flooding could have been minimised/prevented if the enviro agency had continued dredging, whereas no intervention is possible to prevent heatwaves and polar chill events.

Re: If you live on a flood plain-
 

Continued dredging would no doubt have minimised the flooding, but my point is new housing stock should never be built in areas likely to flood, but no doubt Back-Handers always win the day.:rolleyes:

Re: If you live on a flood plain-
 

Couldn't agree more with new developments, cashman, but these villages are hundreds of years old. Some of them were actually on islands surrounded by water when first built.

MargaretR, you'll notice from the TV pictures most of the flooding is on open farmland. The villages have their roads cut off but they're mainly not seriously flooded themselves and the farmers methods(grassland, cattle) are adapted to working on a flood plain, knowing it will flood.
A lot of the 'rivers' are actually artificial drainage ditches which only work by constant pumping as they're below high tide level. They'll never stop all the flooding, they weren't designed to.

Should we have to spend millions of pounds to stop some fields flooding and a few roads being cut off every time nature lets rip?

Might be a good time to open an inflatable dinghy shop down there!

Re: If you live on a flood plain-
 

RAF Locking sloped down to the Somerset Levels and one area of the camp was prone to flooding - it happened when I was stationed there in 60s.
Then Weston-s-Mare gets a big building programme, domestic & commercial. That of course means lots of concrete, roads and buildings so reducing the area of land that can absorb water and slowly dissipate it.
Could see this happening when we lived in Bristol area on the 00s

Re: If you live on a flood plain-
 

Why live on a flood plain? Maybe 'cause the good lord ... or the cosmic muffin, or whatever;) ... chose to put a helluva lot of prime agricultural land in flood plains ... and, by the way, in tornado alley.:D

Re: If you live on a flood plain-
 

:eek: Apparently its gays that are to blame :eek:

Henley on Thames News | Henley councillor suspended :hidewall:

Re: If you live on a flood plain-
 

The area has always flooded that's why they grow willow there, if anybody suggest draining or peat cutting the greens kick off, you just cannot win

Re: If you live on a flood plain-
 

ocassionally it is someone elses fault like when a new motorway is built and it disrupts the natural drainage of rainfall and re directs it towards houses.

most of the time it is usually the buyers fault a bit like when some people buy a house on a main road and whinge about traffic

Re: If you live on a flood plain-
 

Apparently the environmentalists(tree huggers) played a big part in getting the dredging stopped. They said burying the water voles and other cuddly things which lived on the banks with the mud dug out was ruining the balance of nature. So the rivers silted up, the banks didn't get built up and I'll bet the voles still aren't happy, flooded out for five weeks.

Re: If you live on a flood plain-
 

All this raises the question of should we spend 40 billion to get to London a few minutes quicker

Re: If you live on a flood plain-
 

i dont know if anyone else has ever noticed this but whenever a village or town gets flooded in the UK theres always some smug sod with a conoe in the background

Re: If you live on a flood plain-
 

Doesn't everyone have one?

Re: If you live on a flood plain-
 

good grief no

most of us had children so we have something to stand on in case of floods...


of course im joking...


that wouldnt happen until their arms got tired from bailing out water :eek:

Re: If you live on a flood plain-
 

i take it you also mean the river thames:rolleyes:

Re: If you live on a flood plain-
 

Yes, some stretches of the Thames flow through a flood plain as well.

Re: If you live on a flood plain-
 

i hope whoever is in government raises the levy for people from overseas and hedge funds . because they are pricing out the working class people from london. this is why they built on flood plains.

Re: If you live on a flood plain-
 

If anyone can work out what cmon's on about please don't bother letting me know.

Re: If you live on a flood plain-
 

You some kind of leather worker? Because that comment is absolute cobblers!

Re: If you live on a flood plain-
 

They build on flood plains because builders are greedy, planning authorities are stupid and house buyers want houses to be cheaper and then moan when they are flooded.

I am not being insensitive to those poor folk whose houses have been flooded but they did know the risk when they bought their homes. You can build all the flood defences you want but every few years/decades we get freaky weather which is what is happening at the moment. The jet stream that gives us our out of characteristic usual weather for how north we are has shifted and dumped a shed load of rain on us.

Re: If you live on a flood plain-
 

Disagree Neil about planners being stupid, in general i think being greedy is nearer the mark? as i said previously its more about backhanders!!! if ordinary folk like you n i can figure it out, i'm damn sure the planners can?;)

Re: If you live on a flood plain-
 

I think that now the floods are nearer the capital something might just get done.
People live on reclaimed land in the Nederlands....but the drainage systems are better managed.

On the Somerset levels, farmers used to be allowed to dredge their ditches and the portion of the river that crossed their land, the enviroment agency banned them from doing this. Not only that, they said they would prosecute farmers who did do their own dredging.

There was a man on Sky TV this morning who said thet the River Thames had not been dredged since Maggie Thatcher was in power....so while you can argue that is the builders fault, or the planners fault, responsibility for much of the chaos should be laid at the door of the chumps in charge(not the workers - the men on the front line) of the environment agency and government who have sought to reduce costs. Those are the real rogues!

Re: If you live on a flood plain-
 

I have the greatest sympathy for those whose houses have been flooded.

Re: If you live on a flood plain-
 

So have I, many of them had no idea their homes were in danger of flooding when they bought them and they probably had little choice, they needed somewhere close to were they work and their only financial choice would be these properties.
:(

Re: If you live on a flood plain-
 

I agree Less, and it is unproductive and a bit insensitive in trying to throw blame at one another...if this were a country overseas we would be mobilising whatever support we could, to help them in their plight...as it is, it seems that very little (in financial terms) is being done to help them and this is a travesty.

It is all too little and far too late!

Re: If you live on a flood plain-
 

I want to add.
Irrespective of it being a Labour or Conservative government, if this level of flooding took place in the north west I doubt the political interest or media coverage would be any where near the current levels.

Re: If you live on a flood plain-
 

No doubt at all,remember when Hull had the floods? Few days coverage then forgotten.:eek:

Re: If you live on a flood plain-
 

Correct, and a good example.
Does Accrington ever flood or is the town to high up?
How high is Accy in terms of sea level?

If you live on a flood plain-
 

Flooding surely isn't just about how high above sea level, it's about sudden downpours that hit an area, there are a few around the region that get hit often,
Fortunately because of inbreeding and webbed feet most victims survive.
:)

Re: If you live on a flood plain-
 

Its also more about decent sized rivers, that aint been dredged since the Thatcher years, All governments since have conveniently ignored.:rolleyes:

Re: If you live on a flood plain-
 

Flooding also has a lot to do with how much water the ground can absorb too.
Diverting water doesn't always work either. Rivers and ditches need to be dredged regularly to make sure that the flow of water is not slowed down.

The Jubilee River was dug out at a cost of £110million pounds in 2002 with a view to preventing the flooding of towns like Maidenhead and Wraysbury, it hasn't worked and those areas have been flooded a number of times in the last 12 years.
Some of the street drains will also be at fault because they will drain directly into the Thames, so that when the river is in flood the water from the Thames will go up the drains and flood the streets.

Re: If you live on a flood plain-
 

Wow did you actually find a good thing that Thatcher did?
You better sit down and have a rest :D

Re: If you live on a flood plain-
 

Won't those streets have to be below the level of the Thames for that to happen so likely to flood anyway?

Re: If you live on a flood plain-
 

Maybe not. Near where I once lived there was a 'storm drain' which emptied into a local river estuary at below the level of the high tide. The drain was fitted with a one way valve to prevent the river feeding into the drain and also a large underground storage tank for water that could not be discharged when the tide was in. When this system was overloaded it used to blow off a manhole cover and produce a fountain which could be as much as six feet high. All this in the middle of an important road which would then flood and then have to be closed.

Re: If you live on a flood plain-
 

Apparently not Neil.
If the drains cannot sdischarge into the river the water has nowhere to go...and when the river is in flood(as it is now) the water goes up the flood drains.

Re: If you live on a flood plain-
 

Twas that evil cow that stopped it.;)

Re: If you live on a flood plain-
 

Originally called "global warming" then they realised it wasn't actually getting that much warmer so it changed to "climate change",either way it's our fault and we've gotta pay,Personally I prefer the term nature :rolleyes:

Not sure how much cameron gave/is giving of public money to help a (private) train company but It wouldn't surprise me if he had shares in it an that's how he's shifting public money into private pockets (again).Surely they've made enough from tickets over the years to sort they're own crap out? That money could be better spent,maybe on the folk that have had they're lives turned upside down :rolleyes:

The Environment agency should use Cameron (and the other MPs) as sandbags,least that way they'd be doing something constructive.

Re: If you live on a flood plain-
 

That makes sense, the water in the river is high so it keeps the one way valve closed. Water flowing down hill into the underground storage tank then has nowhere to go so comes out of manholes. The cause is the drains being below the river level

Re: If you live on a flood plain-
 

So do I. Not completely convinced by the climate change/global warming thing. The climate has constantly changed since the planet was formed.

Re: If you live on a flood plain-
 

The Environment Agency's leaflet makes a bit of sense to me.
Dredging is usually for navigational purposes.

http://www.ourcityourriver.co.uk/dow...%20Leaflet.pdf

Re: If you live on a flood plain-
 

Dear me, Accyexplorer, you do post some twaddle. As Less said somewhere, you should stick to wandering round empty buildings or at least check the facts.

Network Rail owns all the fixed assets of our rail system and is responsible for their maintenance. Station,lines etc. The bulk of it's income comes from charging the train operators for using its assets. Any state money(up to 30% of its income) it receives is used on the assets.
Yes it is a private company but is has no shares, no shareholders and declares no profits or dividends. Specially set up by the Government( the Labour one) and can be taken over by the Government at any time at no cost.

It owns no rolling stock except the maintenance/repair trains so hasn't made anything out of ticket prices.
No shares, no divi so no Cameron personal profit.

The facts, stick to them.

Re: If you live on a flood plain-
 

I'm wondering if we have applied fer "AID" from other countries? after all we give enough when tragedy happens to them.,:rolleyes:

Re: If you live on a flood plain-
 

Correct the significant factor is the hight of the land you are draining. In flat land with a river running through it the drains will normally be below the highest level the river can reach. Old drains were passive and produced the situation described. Modern drains should have pumps, but as with much of our infrastructure bringing things up to date tends to lag behind need.

Re: If you live on a flood plain-
 

I don't buy the global warming/cilmate change twaddle.

The weather has fluctuated since time began...there will always be times of severe weather in plaes around the globe...to believe that we are causing it is arrogant.......and anyway we produce less that 2% of global Co2 emissions......China, India and America are far and above the biggest culprits on that front...if you believe it, that is.

Re: If you live on a flood plain-
 

Read this "twaddle" :)

How franchising scams the taxpayer for billions | Action For Rail

Re: If you live on a flood plain-
 

Good read that, But what does he know?" Professor John Stittle, Senior Lecturer in Accounting?":D

Re: If you live on a flood plain-
 

Network Rail isn't on your list-it's not a franchise .

Re: If you live on a flood plain-
 

Can we agree to disagree G and concentrate on "facts"? :)

Don't expect any help from our government, our governments only provide aid for natural disasters overseas,their not bothered about their own (as we know).
YES,I think we should be looking for aid from other countries (if they have a interest in our welfare).For example, India (which does well from the export of British workers jobs),China which manufactures near enough everything we consume.We know our MPs are only bothered about their salaries,fiddling expenses and doing as little as possible to ensure re-election. FACT :p

Re: If you live on a flood plain-
 

I was concentrating on facts, that's why I was right and you were wrong.

Re: If you live on a flood plain-
 

Is southern rail on the list?
Ok,
Maybe I will go back under my wandering round old buildings rock :rolleyes:

Re: If you live on a flood plain-
 

Very good leaflet that explains why dredging does not prevent flooding. The assumption being thrown about by the media is that the flooding has been caused because rivers have not been dredged which would appear to be incorrect.
The truth would appear to be that the flood planes have been formed naturally by floods over the centuries and that man was stupid to build on them.

Re: If you live on a flood plain-
 

How was he stupid Neil? He made a fortune outa it.;)

Re: If you live on a flood plain-
 

Many hims have I am sure. I said before that planners should not have allowed building houses on flood plains. Those wet footed Southerners could always move up here into the hills with us

Re: If you live on a flood plain-
 

Much of the Nederlands is below sea level but it has been reclaimed.....they have a very robust flood management system.......and where land is prone to flooding and is built on, this is what is required.
Farmers used to dredge the ditches and the river and the risk of flooding was lessened - is that just coincidental then? The EA stopped farmers from looking after the ditches and the river on their own land.......and managed the flood plain badly, taking more notice of wetland wildlife than the humans(by order of the EU).
I have not read the leaflet,for some reason it won't download for me.
Was it a government publication? Only asking. (You know how cynical I am)

Re: If you live on a flood plain-
 

Don't encourage them Neil.

Re: If you live on a flood plain-
 

Indeed don't encourage them, it would be the worst thing to happen North of Watford since the displacement of the Scots during the land clearances in the 1800's, worse because instead of sheep they would replace us with Southern wimps that would complain about the horizontal rain we get every few hours and just wouldn't understand why our drainage system means we don't have to go to work in canoes very often.
https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/i...E1dUqNIIdN5wTg

Re: If you live on a flood plain-
 

They can afford canoes? :eek:....I struggle saving for a rainy day ;)

Re: If you live on a flood plain-
 

Hmmm, maybe you would benefit from a decent bank account?
Have a word with Neil he can set you up with one in Nigeria.

Re: If you live on a flood plain-
 

the flooding is more serious than we think its not only about flood plains now, the pipes in central london are bursting . network rail are in partnership with the private sector thats why they have paid more than £30 billion in dividends;) to shareholders thats why we are skint .

Re: If you live on a flood plain-
 

Cheers,for the advice Less.
I've heard of them Nigerian accounts,I've already sent 15k ,it's been 3months an I'm still waiting to hear back from them :confused:

:D

If you live on a flood plain-
 

If you send Neil your bank details he will check the account for you.
In fact just put them on here, then we'll all check it for you.

Re: If you live on a flood plain-
 

Seems things are getting worse :eek:

Attachment 37886

Is this what Cameron meant by "moneys no object"?

Re: If you live on a flood plain-
 

The Somerset Levels have been drained for donkeys years. The villages Muchelney, Thorney, Athelney, Midleney were all island villages back then, the "ey" suffix being old engish for isle. Back then the monastries drained the marshes. Then the landowners hired Dutch engineers to drain and reclaim the land. I read somewhere that the Dutch engineers are being rehired (well at least their decendants) They will be the ones making money once more Mr C ;)

Somerset Levels - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Bit of a link to EJ Riley's in the wikipiece too Ol' when you get to the bit about Teazel growing too ;)

Re: If you live on a flood plain-
 

London's £3bn ghost mansions: ?Foreign investors are using capital?s finest homes as real-life Monopoly pieces? - London - News - London Evening Standard
this is what i meant only took a week ;)

If you live on a flood plain-
 

How many 'working class' people are there that can't afford mansions?
Let me guess, 100% of them, so how does this fit in with the scheme of things?

Re: If you live on a flood plain-
 

It doesn't Less, but you can rely on C'mon to never miss a chance to bash the tories.
He wasn't so keen eyed when the other crew werein power....you know, those champagne socialists...those folk who have similar values to those in government now, but rode under a socialist flag of convenience......which made all their nefarious doings alright.

Re: If you live on a flood plain-
 

Come to that how many working class people can't afford even a terraced house in London? The prices are crazy.

Re: If you live on a flood plain-
 

London is like a toilet - you only go if you really need to.

Re: If you live on a flood plain-
 

they not only buy these but the ones that used to be affordable. this government does not care about britain not fit for purpose Floods: British government turned down Dutch help - Channel 4 News absolutely scandalous .

If you live on a flood plain-
 

You must have really nimble fingers to be able to grasp at such minute straws in an effort to make the gullible members of the AccyWeb jury believe the rubbish you post.

:)

Re: If you live on a flood plain-
 

i wouldnt lower myself to your political ineptness ;)

If you live on a flood plain-
 

Of course you wouldn't or should that be couldn't? Mainly due to the fact that no matter how inept I may be politically, I still have a better grasp on reality than you will ever have.
:)

Re: If you live on a flood plain-
 

There it is again! What is it about this phrase you so obviously adore? It keeps cropping up when you spout off & challenge peoples responses to your comments, is it a labour buzz word, or simply negative reinforcement due to you hearing it so often? Pavlovs Pooch anyone? ;)

Re: If you live on a flood plain-
 

There are over 5,000,000 households in London and you are worried that 700 big ones valued at £5,000,000 and above are empty.

Re: If you live on a flood plain-
 

Wow they want to lend us a machine that can fill a 1000 sand bags an hour. I wonder how squaddies it would take to fill a 1000 sand bags an hour?

UK weather: Army scrambled as flooded Thames Valley sees record river gauges and cancelled train services ? and it hasn?t even started raining yet - Home News - UK - The Independent

Re: If you live on a flood plain-
 

A quote from your link, cmon-' so far we have eight very high volume pumps and several Dutch engineers assisting us in Somerset'.

Do you ever read your own links or limit yourself to the headline?

The Dutch wagons were shown arriving with enormous pumps and masses of big bore piping several days ago on the news. They've also been shown working- impressive things.

Too much help can be disruptive- have confidence, the condems are on top of the job!
But at the end of the day you can't beat nature when it lets rip.

Re: If you live on a flood plain-
 

Floods prompt call for reintroduction of beavers
(can't beat a good beaver :eek:)

Floods prompt call for reintroduction of beavers | Derby Telegraph

Re: If you live on a flood plain-
 

True indeed ... Canada's National Animal;) ... Soon to be replaced by Mayor Rob Ford, I believe.:D

Re: If you live on a flood plain-
 

Not as clear cut as people thought at first Mr B

BBC News - Dutch mega-pumps damage flood river...

Re: If you live on a flood plain-
 

There are not too many trees on the Somerset levels Mr A, the raw materials required by your furry acquatic friends to create ponds (yes ponds) which themselves will inhibit drainage. Yeah right and they will build a whacking great one across the Thames eh?

Rebecca Peake of Arkansas Uni says beavers"

• Flood homes, roads and croplands.
• Dam canals, drainages and pipes, which inhibits water control.
• Girdle and fell valuable trees.
• Flood valuable trees, causing them to die after prolonged flooding.

http://fisheries.tamu.edu/files/2013...l-Methods-.pdf

Bit flawed that Derby Telegraph piece methinks.

Re: If you live on a flood plain-
 

The Dutch solution to floods: live with water, don't fight it | Environment | The Observer

I Reckon this would go down like one of them "brick budgies".

Re: If you live on a flood plain-
 

very good point. It cannot be prevented since it is a flood pain. It's simple and easy but they still don't understand.

premature ejaculation

Re: If you live on a flood plain-
 

They can still build housing on flood plains - it just needs to be a tad higher up is all.

Re: If you live on a flood plain-
 

These would be ok

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Wb1aku2sm9...n+stilts+8.jpg

Re: If you live on a flood plain-
 

Neil, That looks suspiciously like a Queenslander.
Nice house!

If you live on a flood plain-
 

Open plan basements, what will they think of next?

Re: If you live on a flood plain-
 

So after all the headlines, filming, drama for weeks just 150 homes were flooded on the Somerset Levels. And some fields.

We were given the impression that everybody south of Birmingham was fighting to get on Noahs Ark as their homes disappeared under water.

But never fear- we have a PLAN.
A £100 million PLAN. To prevent 150 homes and some fields flooding again??
It would be cheaper to give each householder £500,000 each and tell them to buy a Mansion on a hill somewhere.

You live on Humberside? You were flooded? Nobody noticed. Is Humberside south of Birmingham? No? Tough then, no £100 million PLAN for you.

In total only about 6,500 properties, including houses, were flooded in the whole of England. Awful for those involved but not the end of the world as we know it.

No comments yet on the cost of a PLAN for the Thames flood plain. Good job we're not short of money.

If you live on a flood plain-
 

Look on the bright side, the headlines tomorrow will announce how the Government has saved £100million by listening to scientists they gave a grant of £200 million to, to look at a need for flood defences, it seems they aren't needed, though the 150 houses they purchased for their research will need £250 million spending on them to make them fit for re-sale.
:(

Re: If you live on a flood plain-
 

Wall-to-wall floors, maybe.;)

Re: If you live on a flood plain-
 

Sorry about the people that got flooded out of their homes, living in Georgia I have I chance of being flooded out that's why I BUY insurance