The Floods

[anotheoldgit]

Why is there no aid coming from those counties that we rush to aid?

Aside, why are we not hearing anything about the Whaley Bridge Damaged Dam?

[emmie]

because we are the fifth richest nation in the world, this is all about bad management of flood defences and that buck should stop at the door of the environment agency.

[Zacs-Master]

1. Because the level of crisis is far lower.

2. The dam was repaired.

[Peter Pedant]

Hi AOG
is this another - an old man carps - "why oh why ......"

q1 - why aren't the Dutch and Marsh Arabs ( they live in low countries see?) contributing to the floods up t north.
Obvious answer - dunno - ask them

and whaley bridge - the reservoir is fullish ( as the dam wall is damn well weak) . They will replug the gouged bit.

but a better question is [whilst we are it]
unless they rebuild the whole lot - wont the plug in the gouged bit always be a weak part of the dam wall ?

oo-er Mrs - yes I think the repair will weaken the whole structure - or be the weakest part of the whole structure

so I dont know - dont holiday in the path of the Whaley Dam

[chelle7272]

Whaley Bridge inthe news recently
https://www.itv.com/news/granada/2019-10-21/review-into-whaley-bridge-dam-incident-to-report-by-the-end-of-the-year/

[Gromit]

We aid countries because we are rich, and they are poor. We do not need money to manage our floods.

Toddbrooke reservoir at Whaley Bridge is currently emptied and repairs which will take a year are being done.

[jourdain2]

Heard a S. Yorkshire lady today saying that the Rivers had not been dredged, as they always used to be, and local opinion is that that is a huge, major factor in the floods. That seems to me to point the finger at the Environment Agency - so it is self-inflicted damage and we should get ourselves out of it. I seem to remember that this was said to be a massive factor regarding the flooding of the Somerset levels the other year. Why regular dredging has been halted - I know not.

[Peter Pedant]

// Why regular dredging has been halted - I know not.//

some are self scouring - the ones that arent, er obviously silt up. The somerset levels were undredged as they said they didnt need it - I am not sure if they have changed their minds

Lord adonis ( for it was he) went down to the Levels when they were underwater. He was gonna tell the natives what a good job the govt was doing
but halted at the waters edge when he saw the natives on the other said really to cook and eat him ... ! sort of

and whilst I am at it
Fishlake
didnt anyone realise that it is called that - because the Monks 500 y ago, used it as a pond and kept fishes in it?
So the drainage characteristics are poor. well they know now

if you look at the current videos - the water still collected in the village seems to be higher than the river level ....and not really making much effort to drain .....

[jourdain2]

Perhaps the monks puddled the clay, Peter, to keep the lake from draining?

[Peter Pedant]

oh and the corbo heckler

when the corbo heckler heard the Corbyn say that if the floods in Yorks had occurred darn sarf, then it would be a completely different thing - wiv people and bunnies running all over the place clearing it up

and the heckler lit up - yeah it was lucky it wasnt a fire innit?

censorship - more that is what we need !

[Gromit]

We have had a wet year.

A 200 year old dam filled in the summer to the point it was overflowing. That has happened before but not often. The floods in Yorkshire have happened before. Major Rivers are dredged, but the smaller ones such as the Derwent in Derbyshire aren’t even navigable.

We have predicted the country will get wetter because of warming, and so these incidents are coming more often.

[spathiphyllum]

Because what is Syria going to do for Fred down the road with athletes foot?

Yeah... I thought as much.

[Electrochem]

Because generally, the countries we give aid to are impoverished. It's called compassion and we are hardly short of a bob or two.

[New Judge]

//Why regular dredging has been halted - I know not.//

I do.

It began with the EU Habitats Directive. Noble enough in its aims - to protect the habitats of wildlife from being unnecessarily destroyed. Most member nations interpreted this sensibly enough and met its aims where practically possible. The UK went a little further. The real trouble began with the abolition of the British Waterways Board in 2012 to be replaced by a charity - the Canal and River Trust (though the seeds of that trouble were sown earlier than that). Responsibilities for dredging waterways transferred to the Environment Agency. This quango - whose current chief executive is on record as being in alignment with the policies of "Extinction Rebellion" - decided that the protection of wildlife habitats took preference over the protection of property. Dredging - it decided - was far too destructive to micro organisms and larger wildlife and so has been virtually stopped nationwide (apart from in Scotland, that is. They refused to allow their waterways to be controlled by the new charity and a State owned entity - Scottish Canals - still looks after their waterways).

[spathiphyllum]

The country that needs flood aid at the moment is Italy.

[Gromit]

Congratulations in weaving the EU to blame, but you are very wide of the mark. Dredging is mainly done on tidal rivers, and it is not those areas that are mainly flooding. It might have helped at Fishlake, but the area has other problems. It was Fenland and peatbog. Over the last 150 years we have drained the marshes and built on it, and we have dug up the Peat. Compounded with flood defence schemes further up stream which have prevented flooding in major towns, only to transport the problem water downstream quicker to Fishlake..

The area had a months worth of rain in a day, and the ground was already sodden from steady rain over the last couple of months.

[Spicerack]

//Congratulations in weaving the EU to blame, but you are very wide of the mark.//

No, he isn't.

[cassa333]

I do think the waterways and environment agencies have a tough job. Like all agencies at present they don’t have enough money to do everything..... when have they ever thought ??

Rivers and canals have been left to sludge up and so many now rely on volunteers to manage them.

Where I do think no government can do everything or sometimes enough they could do more.