UK flooding again

[El Cid]

No-one needs to resign. It's not possible to build a completely robust system at sensible prices. That's like saying you should resign if your minibus got a flat tyre.

 

Sir Philip Graham Dilley is the chairman of the Environment Agency in England.

He was knighted in the 2014 Birthday Honours for services to engineering.

 

He should be knowledgeable when it comes down to the Foss barrier and its workings, but maybe not the environment.

Apparently he is on holiday in the Caribbean at the moment, emergency, what emergency

The local authorities are getting the blame for not doing enough, but is it their role?

Edited December 29, 2015 by El Cid

[Obelix]

Your class prejudicies are showing.

 

I'd curb them myself, it just makes you look a little bit vindictive.

[El Cid]

Politics will ensure that we'll chuck loads of money to ensure that it will never flood as badly in the places that it has. Then next year somewhere else will flood, and we'll throw a load of money ensuring that it'll not fold as badly there again and so on.

 

This seems to be the nature of floods and politics.

 

Or they will do a review, find that we could do loads more, but leave it for the next Government.

There was a Government inquiry in to the flooding of July 2007, result, not a lot.

 

---------- Post added 29-12-2015 at 12:42 ----------

 

Your class prejudicies are showing.

 

I'd curb them myself, it just makes you look a little bit vindictive.

 

Do you think its ok for the head of the Environment Agency to be on holiday abroad, when our environment is under so much pressure

 

---------- Post added 29-12-2015 at 12:53 ----------

 

Review of 2007 summer floods

 

We are the Environment Agency. It's our job to look after your environment and make it a better place - for you, and for future generations.

 

"Over 55,000 homes and businesses were flooded this summer as we experienced the wettest May to July period in the last 250 years. It is important that we learn from our experiences in this summer’s floods and act on what we learn."

 

Have they learned anything from any of the many past floods, or are they covering theirs and the Governments buts?

 

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/292924/geho1107bnmi-e-e.pdf

[Berberis]

I dont think that is a big issue; how many emails or complaints have you sent to the council? You think its a problem, I dont, so its your issue to highlight to the council.

 

Most flooding came 2/3 days after the rainfall, that is because it gradually drains into the rivers, not a gully drain issue.

 

If the council promised to sort the drains but failed how is it now my responsibility?

 

Clear drains allow water management, if they are blocked and the water runs over the surface, there is no control and so you get flooding. Its that simple.

[Obelix]

Do you think its ok for the head of the Environment Agency to be on holiday abroad, when our environment is under so much pressure

 

Yes. Believe it or not people take holidays round this time of year.

 

Why all the tub thumping? Apart from being one of these people that thinks "There Must be Someone to Blame"?

 

Why shouldn't they go away? No one knew this storm was coming in this bad until about 36 hours beforehand.

 

You seem to be gagging for someone to blame for the flooding in York and so forth. I suggest you look at the Romans. They built the city there after all!

 

---------- Post added 29-12-2015 at 14:29 ----------

 

If the council promised to sort the drains but failed how is it now my responsibility?.

Because you are not sufficiently Left wing and therefore are always at fault even if you died 20 years ago.

[I1L2T3]

I am sure some councillors and MPs will get behind schemes to build more defenses, its the easiest way, letting some land flood is what we used to do.

Which bits(large) of land can we allow to flood?

 

Flood plains.

 

Stop building houses on them. Let them flood.

 

---------- Post added 29-12-2015 at 17:27 ----------

 

If the council promised to sort the drains but failed how is it now my responsibility?

 

Clear drains allow water management, if they are blocked and the water runs over the surface, there is no control and so you get flooding. Its that simple.

 

Very true. The Environment agency differentiates between flooding from rivers and from surface water.

 

The way the built environment is managed, including as you say management of drains, greatly impacts the chances of flooding from surface water.

[carlbadboy]

Flood plains.

 

Stop building houses on them. Let them flood.

 

---------- Post added 29-12-2015 at 17:27 ----------

 

 

Very true. The Environment agency differentiates between flooding from rivers and from surface water.

 

The way the built environment is managed, including as you say management of drains, greatly impacts the chances of flooding from surface water.

 

About five million properties – almost one in 6 of all in England - are on flood plains, of which four million are residential properties. Yet more than half of flood plain residents believed they were “not at all at risk” of flooding, according to surveys conducted by the Environment Agency over the past three years.

 

And they still plan to build more. :loopy::loopy:

[altus]

Do you think its ok for the head of the Environment Agency to be on holiday abroad, when our environment is under so much pressure

 

Do you want the Environment Agency to be organised in such a way that it cannot react to situations like this unless the head of the organisation is physically present? Because that's what you're implying.

[Solution]

Yes. Believe it or not people take holidays round this time of year.

 

Why all the tub thumping? Apart from being one of these people that thinks "There Must be Someone to Blame"?

 

Why shouldn't they go away? No one knew this storm was coming in this bad until about 36 hours beforehand.

 

You seem to be gagging for someone to blame for the flooding in York and so forth. I suggest you look at the Romans. They built the city there after all!

 

---------- Post added 29-12-2015 at 14:29 ----------

 

Because you are not sufficiently Left wing and therefore are always at fault even if you died 20 years ago.

 

I have someone to blame in the York area. The Police.

Yesterday and today, the York constabulary decided it was more important to utilise their men as speed monitors on the A64, whilst people in the North Yorkshire area were left swilling their homes out with buckets, alongside volunteers.

Why do the authorities assume this flooding is not as devastating as other human tragedy? There should be every spare penny of aid money channelled into this and the assistance of the emergency services, including the police at every opportunity, not standing at the side of a dual carriageway issuing speeding tickets.

Any monies set aside for foreign aid should be used to help these people, and used to build infrastructure to avoid it happening again. I'm sure there will be arguments against this, but this country and its government has really got problems with helping the very people that fund them.

[spilldig]

If the council promised to sort the drains but failed how is it now my responsibility?

 

Clear drains allow water management, if they are blocked and the water runs over the surface, there is no control and so you get flooding. Its that simple.

 

Very true. I also remember when councils used to invest in dredging the river beds too. The only time I have seen it done in Sheffield was after our flood and then as soon as the shouting subsided they stopped again. I don't suppose York is any different.