River dredging

[Smiffy]

You can see why they have no money left. 14 officials went to check what a good job he had done. Given most of the whining is about saving the world I bet they didn't walk or cycle there. From memory the photo that was removed showed cars as well as people.

Any government body like this will also have the tendancy to attract jobsworths
Not saying for a second all are
But it's just one of those things that most of them couldn't get a job elsewhere that involved being productive and they have a tendancy to think with there hearts rather than atall logically

I worked clearing a barn that had be filled to the top with flytips done professionally with a machine and 50-70 arctic loads of rubbish
There was an old school ex cop EA officer on site looking for evidence and the story's he told of his colleagues makes you wonder how the whole agency can function

 

[Grahams]

story's he told of his colleagues makes you wonder how the whole agency can function

It can't, that is the problem.

 

[Smiffy]

These arnt the greatest photos but I took these last year stood by a wear on the river lug not far from where this happened
The flooding in the area was really bad and the force in the river was unbelievable
This wear is for an old mill my father is helping restore and at the peak of the flood the water was lapping at the upstairs windows

 

[Grahams]

These arnt the greatest photos but I took these last year stood by a wear on the river lug not far from where this happened
The flooding in the area was really bad and the force in the river was unbelievable
This wear is for an old mill my father is helping restore and at the peak of the flood the water was lapping at the upstairs windows

The farmer and parish council were saying how bad the flooding had got recently, but why would the environment agency worry about people when they have wildlife to worry about?

 

[Smiffy]

The farmer and parish council were saying how bad the flooding had got recently, but why would the environment agency worry about people when they have wildlife to worry about?

And tbh they have done a nice job not as if the farmer did it to make room for houses
I appreciate the need to protect wildlife and countryside but there are an awful lot of people who claim to be advocates of the countryside who are completely ignorant to the amount of human intervention and management the countryside has taken to look the way it does now

 

[doobin]

And tbh they have done a nice job not as if the farmer did it to make room for houses
I appreciate the need to protect wildlife and countryside but there are an awful lot of people who claim to be advocates of the countryside who are completely ignorant to the amount of human intervention and management the countryside has taken to look the way it does now

The farmer wouldn’t be that stupid, Barrett Homes on the other hand....
Beggars belief all the building on flood plains.

 

[V8Druid]

These arnt the greatest photos but I took these last year stood by a wear on the river lug not far from where this happened
The flooding in the area was really bad and the force in the river was unbelievable
This wear is for an old mill my father is helping restore and at the peak of the flood the water was lapping at the upstairs windows

where the hell is the weir ??? ... THAT is a LOT of water

 

[Smiffy]

where the hell is the weir ??? ... THAT is a LOT of water

Several feet below that arch in the water
It can usually be walked across
This was 24hrs before peak flow which would have been about 15ft higher



Just spoken to the old man who lives that way and knows those involved
This stretch of river has had this done to it every 5-10 years for a long time
There is a single person who objects and all this fuss is because of them otherwise it would have gone unnoticed

 

[V8Druid]

Several feet below that arch in the water
It can usually be walked across
This was 24hrs before peak flow which would have been about 15ft higher



Just spoken to the old man who lives that way and knows those involved
This stretch of river has had this done to it every 5-10 years for a long time
There is a single person who objects and all this fuss is because of them otherwise it would have gone unnoticed

tosser

 

[JD450A]

I would put money on that he has been told by the E.A to do something to combat bank erosion, and likewise the

There is a single person who objects and all this fuss is because of them otherwise it would have gone unnoticed

As Usual Scarfolk Has the solution

 

[GazCro]

Thing a lot of people don't realise is that there has been a shift in recent years (other than the obvious one over the past 50 odd) as to who is in charge. It used to be that natural england were a small dept alongside the ea. They now actually are in change and ea is below them. This is where the major change has occurred and made it even worse. They are not bothered about river maintenence anymore and believe they should be left to do their own thing. What they can't understand is that rivers in this country only look like they do because man has spent the last few hundred years working along them. This is what the nra used to do to maintain them but then all off a sudden they decide to ban it. Most of ur clipboards are uni educated impractical zero common sense individuals who unfortunately are in charge now. The whole approach to flood prevention in this country is a joke.

 

[Lancs Lad]

Got similar thing down back of us. Brook which is flooding several times a year and EA never been near it , full of logs and crap from upstream. Eating it's way into fields on the bends etc...farmer was planning on "straightening it" with 24t but thought he'd best do right thing and enquired apparently it's classed a "major river" or something similar and all hell with kick off if he touches it. Wtf.

 

[GazCro]

One of the biggest problems is there's always been regular maintenance done and then policy is not to do it, or in many cases to stop allowing farmers or landowners to do it. Greed played a part in stopping it being done by Joe public in many cases mind. Round the lakes a lot of the farm tracks and even roads are built with beck gravel as a base. A few places where gravel built up local farmers were allowed at certain times of year to dig some out to use. This was all well and good in the days of grey fergies and little trailers but as machinery got bigger more gravel was taken and even taken further afield. So we end up with a blanket ban. Fast forward to now and rivers are full of gravel eroding banks and those in charge (ea) have no recollection of how it used to be done.
A little and often used to work but unfortunately now we are way beyond it being any use.

 

[Gunners]

I don't think we know enough about the situation to really comment on either parties reaction, but it does seem "fishy" to me
Rivers have always flooded, always will. Maybe more so these days due to climate change perhaps? - a topic of discussion for another day! The issue we have these days is that more people live near rivers now - flooding is inevitable!

You have to consider both sides of this to understand why the EA might be making such a fuss. The basis of flood control is to slow the water and let rivers flood in less critical areas. The excess then comes down stream in a more controlled way through the more important areas. This can be done in many ways, natural bends in the river, weirs, wider, shallower channels etc. Making a deep trench with high sides might solve your patch of ground but wont do the people downstream any favours - maybe even somewhere that hasn't flooded before, might now flood.

I'm not saying either party are right or wrong in this case, I don't know enough to comment on that. I am just trying to put some points across that might justify why either party has reacted in the way they have, and why just dredging rivers wont necessarily solve the problem. Although I think the EA could do more to explain their thinking, and I know there is thinking behind it, certainly along the Thames anyway (remember the Thames through Maidenhead, Taplow, through to Egham is populated by some very wealthy individuals and many more houses behind them - might sway their budget somewhat rightly or wrongly) January 2014, they let Chertsey flood in order to save Windsor. You tell me where the priorities are....
My solution would be to not live on a f****ng floodplain!

 

[TiltyShaun]

My solution would be to not live on a f****ng floodplain!

Agree with this.
We have a friend who purchased a house in a flood zone that was previously rented by another friend. The renters moved out after being flooded by the big in 2007. The owners spent a fortune on “flood defences” and the friend then purchased a lot of land and house well below the market value for the size of property. I had warned her that the flood defences would not hold back the water and the small electric sump pumps would fail. She flooded last year and has only just got back into the house after 11months. They have upgraded some of the system. But she fails to see that if your house is surrounded by 4ft of water and you need electricity for the pump or unleaded you are relying on an act of god to keep dry from an act of god!!

 

[Gunners]

But she fails to see that if your house is surrounded by 4ft of water and you need electricity for the pump or unleaded you are relying on an act of god to keep dry from an act of god!!

Great house, really good view of the river. Exceptional view once every 10 years!

 

[V8Druid]

Great house, really good view of the river. Exceptional view once every 10 years!

sadly it's no longer a ten yearly event though ..... if you build on a flood plain the houses need to be raised ... end of ...
put a roof on a house with a crane many years ago .... beside the river Usk on a serious flood plain ... it's built on a ten foot high mound and has a boat tied to the mound ... they've needed it on many occasions, but've never had it in the house ... close but it's not over topped the mound .......
can see a lot of houses in Europe on mounds on low lying ground ... they use their heads

 

[GazCro]

Possibly not the case for many parts of the country but round me we've had the 5 yearly (ish) floods over the past 15 years which everyone acts like they are something new. But back in the 50s and 60s they were commonplace and actually one in the early 80s. Short memories are often a problem, just because you've had 25/30 years without a flood doesn't mean its never gonna happen. Hence all the building on flood plains now. The only reason a lot of these flood plains haven't been flooding is because of river management but once that is stopped ...........

 

[Grahams]

The only reason a lot of these flood plains haven't been flooding is because of river management but once that is stopped ...........

Exactly, and people obviously expected the management of rivers to carry on as it has done for at least a hundred years, probably more. Why do the EA think it is okay to sacrifice peoples homes, livelihoods and possibly lives for the greater good? They are an unelected quango who seem to have taken it upon themselves to change priorities to saving wildlife over people, who incidentally pay their wages.
Given this change has happened why do planning authorites give planning permission? Either just say no or if they have to agree make sure the houses are properly protected.

 

[Lancs Lad]

Possibly not the case for many parts of the country but round me we've had the 5 yearly (ish) floods over the past 15 years which everyone acts like they are something new. But back in the 50s and 60s they were commonplace and actually one in the early 80s. Short memories are often a problem, just because you've had 25/30 years without a flood doesn't mean its never gonna happen. Hence all the building on flood plains now. The only reason a lot of these flood plains haven't been flooding is because of river management but once that is stopped ...........

It's climate change that's the culprit obviously