Somerset floods now "major incident"

[adam2]

Reports here
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-25876309

The areas affected are prone to flooding, but this seems much worse than usual. Some areas have been cut of except by boat for many weeks.

Presuming that the area is not to be abandoned, it is looking as though something will have to be done in the long term, rather than short term relief works.

It seems improbable that the usual type of flood defences will help much. Walls and barriers can help keep the water in rivers, but dont really help much with such general flooding.

Local pumping plant does not help much when the whole district is under water.

I think that it might be worth building an elevated aqueduct from the most affected areas to the sea. Built at such a height that water can flow from this into the sea at any state of tide.

Pump the flood water into this elevated aqueduct such that it drains by gravity into the sea. Pumping could be achieved by either traditional windmill driven pumps, or more modern alternatives.

Or perhaps houses and farms should be re-located to raised mounds that will be surrounded by floodwater, but not actually submerged. The surounding land would make excellent cattle grazing, provided that the cattle can be housed on the islands in floods. (cows can swim, but not very well and soon perish of exhaustion wthout high land as a refuge)

[emordnilap]

Hmmm. Somewhat similar to the west of Ireland: new 'islands' being created, storm defences being breached and, ironically, a large part of the route for a brand new 'relief' road submerged, not that that will stop 'em.

Polar vortex. Drought in California. Heatwaves, etc etc etc.

[biffvernon]

I think that it might be worth building an elevated aqueduct from the most affected areas to the sea. Built at such a height that water can flow from this into the sea at any state of tide.

That's effectively what we have on the Lincolnshire Marsh. The 'high level drains' take water from the Wolds and higher ground, across the Marsh and into the sea through tide gates at low tide. The 'low level drains' take water from the Marsh itself and lift it into the sea through electric pumps, formally windpumps.

[adam2]

Military help being called for.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-25958076

[Atman]

Just think how the weather will get worse as government environmental spending decreases and almost no-one is prepared for anything other than BUA which looks less and less likely by the day.

I may do something extreme and cycle the 10 miles east to witness the floods myself.

[biffvernon]

We do seem to have a lot of new hydrology and drainage experts amongst farmers and politicians! In today's Daily Mail, Michael Eavis, who not only is good at pop festivals is also a drainage engineer! writes:

Before I was a festival organiser, I was – and remain – a Somerset dairy farmer and we have to know about drainage. Our livelihoods depend on it.
That why’s the network of ditches, streams and rivers at Worthy Farm are kept in pretty good nick. We need them to do their job and carry water off the land and into the sea.

And that seems to me a big part of the problem - he and his fellow farmers have done such a good job of draining their land that the rain quickly runs into the rivers that then have to cross the Moors. He does not put the water into the sea!

Oh, and someone in at the Met Office just announced that a new January rainfall record has been set for Southern England. Apparently you get unusual floods when you have more rain than ever before.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... Eavis.html (The pictures are good)

[emordnilap]

And that seems to me a big part of the problem - he and his fellow farmers have done such a good job of draining their land that the rain quickly runs into the rivers that then have to cross the Moors. He does not put the water into the sea!

I was only talking about something similar yesterday.

Mega amounts of money, time and fossil fuels have been expended on our main county river, to get the water flowing faster and not flooding the town dwellers.

This is after mega amounts of money, time and fossil fuels have been expended draining land upriver.

If, instead, they'd planted lots of trees on that land, all that money, time and fossil fuels would have been saved.

Most (99%) people have much to learn.

Oh, and someone in at the Met Office just announced that a new January rainfall record has been set for Southern England.

I think our January rain will set a new record. We have had five dry days out of the thirty so far - three of them this week.

[Atman]

Did you read the Monbiot article about the recent flooding and related governmental idiocy? It's on his site somewhere and echos what you said about drainage issues being all man-made.

[Tarrel]

Oh, and someone in at the Met Office just announced that a new January rainfall record has been set for Southern England. Apparently you get unusual floods when you have more rain than ever before.

But the Northwest Highlands has only experienced 40% of the 30-year average, setting up for further drought conditions and out-of-control muir-burn this spring.

[emordnilap]

Torrential rain in the west of Ireland as I type. Lots more rain and gales forecast over the weekend.

The only bright side is that the gales will be south-westerly (the usual) instead of westerly, which did a lot of damage recently. Ireland is accustomed to south-westerlies but not storms directly from due west.

Being happily generous, we won't use all the energy and rain in the storm, we'll make sure you share in it.

[Tarrel]

Looks like we'll be getting it as heavy snow over the high ground. The ski resorts are having their best season for years, apparently.

[biffvernon]

How's your drought doing, Ken?



http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-25963002

[RenewableCandy]

We had a welcome spot of sunshine today and rushed out to saw up lots of wood and string up the laundry. The river's quite high but, unusually for this part of the country in times like these, nothing's actually wet that shouldn't be. Looks as if we're in the 150-175 iso-wet on that map.

[Tarrel]

We're in the white area; bang on average.

We were also chopping wood today. Sun on the woodpile - yippee!

[kenneal - lagger]

We haven't had a drought since last summer, Biff. Working on the law of averages with weather we will probably have a drought later on in the year some time. Only just like the rain has been exceptional so will the drought be. It's that Global Warming thing.

I've had to dig a ditch alongside my drive to stop water from pushing up through the base and vehicles falling through the tarmac. I'll drain it into a wet patch rather than straight into the road side ditch, though, so it will slow down the build up in the local river just a little.

Don't forget, though, that the sun is in a quiet stage at the moment so Europe, at least, and possibly the northern hemisphere could suffer from cooler temperatures for a few decades!!