If you live on a flood plain = You're going to get flooded

[BUTTERBALL]

Makes me laugh how they blame the environment agency for an act of god. All the dredging in the world would not have prevented the flooding.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

Flood plains are supposed to flood. That's what they are for.

 

[easynow]

There are lots of flood plains in the UK they are not underwater because they have proper flood defences and drainage. Langley is on a flood plain that is not flooded.
The Somerset levels are exceptional and always prone to flooding, the locals have been asking for years for further dredging and drainage, they knew this would happen one day but it fell on deaf ears and now they are paying the price. If any work should have been done and money spent it should have been there. Ok we have had exceptional rainfall and the levels would have flooded but not to this extent.
The only people to blame are the EA and successive governments as usual. Its all about not wanting to spend money and not listening to the locals

Dredging in that area of the country is only going to make all the water drain faster into someone elses house the next village/town/county over. This is the worse consecutive downpour of rainfall since records began 250 years ago. This is in no way the EA or governments fault.

 

[beorhthelm]

There are lots of flood plains in the UK they are not underwater because they have proper flood defences and drainage. Langley is on a flood plain that is not flooded.

really cant compare, we've not had anywhere near the same amount of rain in sussex, and the geography is quite different. Langley is a marsh, prone to flod from the sea, there's no substantial watercourses.

 

[Nibble]

barking up the wrong trees there. this is a argricultural area that wouldnt have any substantial forestry. no has it been developed much if at all. its a low lying flood plain thats used to regular flooding that has experienced near 6 weeks of continuous rain. no dredging or fannying around with ditches would have changed this outcome.

Deforestation affects the whole of the UK. Flood plain, farmland or housing estate. It's a common misconception that it only affects the area the trees once were.

 

[Silk]

really cant compare, we've not had anywhere near the same amount of rain in sussex, and the geography is quite different. Langley is a marsh, prone to flod from the sea, there's no substantial watercourses.

Is that Langley, Virginia?

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Why is this so hard to understand?

It's not the government or Environment agency fault.

Are you sure? Some ex-Tory said it was because David Cameron has allowed gay marriage. It's written in the bible you know.

 

[Creaky]

If you live on a flood plain = You're going to get flooded

Exactly the same argument can be made about noise and living near an airport. Doesn't mean to say that steps can't and shouldn't be made to mitigate the effects.

We live in the flood plain of the River Mole that runs along the bottom of our garden - we have lived here for over 35 years and the house has never been flooded although the garden has been totally waterlogged on a number of occasions.

We have noticed over the last few years that the water level has risen, often just for a short period, following heavy rain far more than it used to - we have put this down to two main causes - the river no longer seems to be cleared of debris by the River Authority, as it used to be, added to which there have been thousands of houses, (part of the Surrey Plan), built on the flood plain on the other side of the river. These houses are protected by 'flood defenses' but of course this means the amount of land that can be flooded has been reduced making it far worse for the remaining land.

In my opinion flood defenses, (i.e. barriers and water diversion) are not the answer and ultimately it has to come down to making sure that the natural water courses and drainage channels are kept as clear as possible to allow the water to drain out to the sea.

The bottom of the garden a few weeks ago - you can just see the roofs of the new houses in the background.

 

[beorhthelm]

Deforestation affects the whole of the UK. Flood plain, farmland or housing estate. It's a common misconception that it only affects the area the trees once were.

what, even when the deforestation is hundreds of miles away? of course not. my point was, the affected area is lowlands that have been grassland and arable for centuries. (no doubt once where forested if we want to be pedantic). as far as i know there arent large tracts of forests upstream in the moors either.

 

[Raleigh Chopper]

Dredging in that area of the country is only going to make all the water drain faster into someone elses house the next village/town/county over. This is the worse consecutive downpour of rainfall since records began 250 years ago. This is in no way the EA or governments fault.

I think its more about drainage from the fields to the two rivers(Tone & Parett) which should have been dredged deeper to take the excess water out to the Bristol Channel.
If doing this isn't the answer why are they going to do it when the water eventually goes away.
As I said the locals have been asking for this for years, they should know.
However I do agree that if you are going to live there you must know that you run a strong risk of this happening.

 

[Nibble]

what, even when the deforestation is hundreds of miles away? of course not. my point was, the affected area is lowlands that have been grassland and arable for centuries. (no doubt once where forested if we want to be pedantic). as far as i know there arent large tracts of forests upstream in the moors either.

Yes, lowlands and floodplains are always going to have an inherent risk of flooding, but felling does affect the country as a whole, wherever you are.

 

[jakarta]

I'm sure the good folk of Watersfield, especially those that live on River Lane, are shocked by recent developments....

 

[TheJasperCo]

But if you are rich and have a 4x4 then of course it's someone elses fault......."How dare anyone let nature come to my doorstep! I chose this house on postcode, size, and price, and didn't think once about nearby rivers linked to the atlantic - that's the goverment's job!"

I think the residents' gripe is that they have lived in that region for decades in some cases, and it's only been in recent years that rain is starting to pose a problem. Yours is a mean-spirited view on things, since much of the affected area is farmland. We're talking people's livelihoods being destroyed because of council and beaurocratic ineptitude when it comes to a) building more homes and b) failing to continue dredging the main rivers. Then think about the inevitable increase in food prices because of the loss of agriculture.

Besides, now that we know there has been a fatality linked to the flooding, and on the basis you would probably be peed off in the same circumstances, and criticsing residents really is not on.

 

[Vegas Seagull]

If I employ people in an office building and install a lift for convenience, if it goes wrong should I ask the government for help to fund repairs to it?
If I chose to make my living on floodplain farmland and use the river for irrigation, if it goes wrong should I ask the government for help to fund repairs to it?

 

[DJ Leon]

Why is this so hard to understand?

It's not the government or Environment agency fault.

I don't think people are blaming the the government or EA for the rain, but maybe think they could do more to help with prevention and support. This sounds entirely reasonable to me and it seems pretty mean-spirited to attack those in trouble for thinking they should get better support.

Good job we don't live on a fault line. But presumably those guys should complain when they are in an earthquake.

 

[Creaky]

I don't think people are blaming the the government or EA for the rain, but maybe think they could do more to help with prevention and support. This sounds entirely reasonable to me and it seems pretty mean-spirited to attack those in trouble for thinking they should get better support.

Good job we don't live on a fault line. But presumably those guys should complain when they are in an earthquake.

Using that logic then all those hoteliers, retailers and restauranteurs on the seafront would have no grounds to complain if the seawall was not kept in good repair!

Dredging rivers, maintaining roads, maintaining sea defences and the like are not things individuals can do but are reliant on councils and central government for - that is the purpose of taxes. So yes they do have grounds to complain.

 

[Hastings woody]

Its not rocket science. buy a house half way up a hill or on the top. water runs downhill.

 

[midnight_rendezvous]

Apparently it's an EU conspiracy...

 

[mikeyjh]

Raise my eyebrow when I hear the TORY mp for Bridgwater pleading for state intervention, isn't it all about the individual? Not sure I want my hard earned tax on these scroungers who won't get out clear the flood water themselves....

 

[mikeyjh]

Its not rocket science. buy a house half way up a hill or on the top. water runs downhill.

Erm, yes it does, straight in to your house?!?