As the storm clouds gather over southern England the drought still drags on !
Volume 1 is here
Volume 2 is here
Volume 3 is here
Volume 4 is here
Volume 5 is here
Last edited by: R.P. on Tue 24 Apr 12 at 10:24
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The temporary delay of Volume 6 nearly made me think that the thread had dried up in sympathy with the drying up of our water supply!
;-)
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>> The temporary delay of Volume 6 nearly made me think that the thread had dried
>> up in sympathy with the drying up of our water supply!
>> ;-)
>>
Don't be wet!
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Has St Swithin's day been rescheduled this year? I reckon that if we get much more rain Anglian Water will be begging us to use hosepipes.
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My lawn has puddles on it at the moment.
The Osprey doesn't look too happy this morning either.
Pat
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>> My lawn has puddles on it at the moment.
>>
>> The Osprey doesn't look too happy this morning either.
>>
>> Pat
>>
I don't think anyone is ever happy down there, it is either too wet, dry, hot, cold, windy or heaven forbid, winter tyre weather. :-)
Last edited by: Old Navy on Fri 27 Apr 12 at 10:51
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Flood warnings following heavy rain. tinyurl.com/86gnu2h
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I liked that cartoon - Am I allowed to use a hosepipe to pump out my flood?
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>> Am I allowed to use a hosepipe to pump out my flood?
That reminds me ~ I must check my inspection pit.
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Avon pretty high below the horseshoe weir in Bath this morning - level with the top of the railings on the right of this picture:
home.fastnet.co.uk/gerrycork/canals/k&a/bath_moorings.jpg
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>> Avon pretty high below the horseshoe weir in Bath this morning - level with the
>> top of the railings on the right of this picture:
>> home.fastnet.co.uk/gerrycork/canals/k&a/bath_moorings.jpg
Fancied a stroll - it's gone down a bit now, although the weir is still pretty much submerged:
i969.photobucket.com/albums/ae173/focushj/30042012116.jpg
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Nearest thing I have to a home town Focus. The Empire Hotel - the Edwardian building to the left of the weir - was taken over by the Admiralty during the war and remained in MoD hands for some time after it.
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>> Nearest thing I have to a home town Focus.
I remember you mentioning it once or twice in the past AC; very nice place to work.
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All this rain might not be enough to remove the hosepipe ban but it is enough to cancel the Badminton Horse Trials.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-17892419
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I'm sure the horses will be pleased not to be on trial. Of what are they accused?
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...always having a long face...
or maybe feeling a little hoarse...
Last edited by: smokie on Mon 30 Apr 12 at 14:37
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..walking in a funny way...and falling in the water.
But they were out on bale.
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April is the wettest in 100 years
This has been the wettest April in the UK for over a century, with some areas seeing three times their usual monthly average, Met Office figures show.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-17897982
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Quite bad here Saturday night/Sunday morning, rain found its way into my loft area and down the wall into my kitchen,
thing is though the consumer unit is directly below where it was drip drip dripping and the consumer unit was quite wet,
I wouldn't touch it just to be on the safe side, like, so I got the ole woman to throw the main switch.
Silly question (maybe) but is it really like OMG! if the electrics get wet (and I keep well away)?
when the missus switched it back on for me (she's a dear) everything worked OK, like.
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Every month these days seems to have an "est-for-100-years" in it somewhere; has anyone stopped to think that it might be a weather pattern repeating itself?
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It amazes me that people can live on flood plains and then complain about flooding. They must be the same people who holiday in hot countries and complain about the heat.
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Just ridden 40 odd miles to meet a biking bud for a coffee....very mild night here bike's gauge was showing 15 degrees - bit windy though.
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This was what some of us got up to: youtu.be/wJit1wVKCfM
Only about 30mm of the stuff fell around there at the weekend.
I'm in the passenger seat of the blue/white Sprite at around the 2 minute mark, note the sartorial head wear.
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I think the X1 in its winter tyres would have made a showing there !
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2WD only, although the MR2 had an LSD.
You'd be welcome and if yours is 4WD, you can pull out all of us that got stuck or broke something.
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"It amazes me that people can live on flood plains and then complain about flooding."
Large amounts of housing in the UK are built on flood plains. I suspect a lot of house-owners don't even know. The entire city of York for example is built on a flood plain, bad planning by those Romans who sited it there! Realistically more housing will have to be built on flood plains, especially in the South East where space is at a premium.
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>> Large amounts of housing in the UK are built on flood plains. I suspect a
>> lot of house-owners don't even know.
>>
That also amazes me, It has been high up my list of things to check when I have been house buying. As you say the flood plains have been a feature of the country for thousands of years. It is a bit like buying a house at the top of a cliff with a fabulous view, a cliff is only an eroding hill, still you pay your cash and take your choice.
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Look at the worst predictions for sea level rise, look at a contour map of your proposed location, and then do a simple calculation.
If levels rise 200 feet we will have a private riverside property with a handy slipway running down from the boathouse (garage).
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>> If levels rise 200 feet we will have a private riverside property with a handy
>> slipway running down from the boathouse (garage).
>>
Its 400 feet for me, at least it is usually below the snow line. :-)
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If it comes up about ten feet, I will a property alongside the river Mole.
If it comes up ten metres, I will have a seaside property!
Last edited by: Duncan on Tue 1 May 12 at 08:52
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>> If it comes up about ten feet, I will a property alongside the river Mole.
It does, frequently, it made another brave bid for freedom at Cobham again this week.
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There was standing water here (but not what you'd call flooding) after the 1953 floods, but since then sea defences and land drainage have been improved. tinyurl.com/d93wdez
Last edited by: L'escargot on Tue 1 May 12 at 09:14
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Still wouldn't survive the combination of a very high tide and north sea surge that prevailed that day. We have come close twice since.
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1953 Halve off the Netherlands under water.Governments had been warned about not spending on sea defences.After 53, Millions spend on coastal defences in the area of Zeeland and along the coast.The East coast of Yorkshire is vunerable to coast erosion and not enough money spend on sea defences.
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If you look at the Environment Agency's flood map of the UK you will see that huge areas of our cities and countryside are potentially liable to flooding. The Thames Valley is highly vulnerable especially when you consider how many people live in the affected area.
tinyurl.com/7p5q4u5
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The Thames Valley, from Chertsey to the sea, was a delta, and all the swamps, marshes, streams that entails. At one point in time the only place to cross from south to north was at Walton on Thames.
The only thing you can be sure of is that water will, at some point in time, revert back to its original course. You can tame it, control it, direct it, but it WILL bite you next week or in a hundred /thousand years time.
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If you go back far enough the Thames was a tributary of the Rhine
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I was only considering the last two thousand years.
If you go back far enough the Rhine and Thames were tributaries of the River North Sea.
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I'm sure I heard a reporter on yesterdays one-0-clock news say something along the lines of I was reporting from this spot during the last floods and the water was this high as he indicated with his hand at head height.
On today's one-0-clock news a reporter said the water is still very deep and wet.
I know I'm being pedantic, but shouldn't the BBC be the last bastion of correctness?
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>> I know I'm being pedantic, but shouldn't the BBC be the last bastion of correctness?
>>
The whole country is deteriorating, the BBC is no different. Their impartiality and correctness in several areas went years ago.
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>> On today's one-0-clock news a reporter said the water is still very deep and wet.
>>
>> I know I'm being pedantic, but shouldn't the BBC be the last bastion of correctness?
>>
I know I'm being pedantic, but isn't the news at one o'clock?
;-)
Last edited by: L'escargot on Tue 1 May 12 at 15:04
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I wish I'd see that first, then it could have been me, I, myself, being pedantic. [;-) ]
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"April is the wettest in 100 years
This has been the wettest April in the UK for over a century, with some areas seeing three times their usual monthly average, Met Office figures show."
Ironic really after their forecast made on 23rd March (yes, a whole week before April)
"Met Office 3-month Outlook
Period: April – June 2012 Issue date: 23.03.12
SUMMARY - PRECIPITATION:
The forecast for average UK rainfall slightly favours drier than average
conditions for AprilMayJune as a whole, and also slightly favours April being the
driest of the 3 months.
With this forecast, the water resources situation in southern, eastern and central England is likely to deteriorate further during the AprilMayJune
period."
www.metoffice.gov.uk/media/pdf/p/i/A3-layout-precip-AMJ.pdf
Never mind, at least they can forecast, using the same computer, that due to "climate change" temps will rise by 2 degrees in the next 100 years and that sea levels wil rise by ....... well, anything from a few inches to numerous metres.
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Inevitably the floods and high river levels have claimed at least one victim.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-17915334
The dead man, Jonathan Gammon, was a judge in the Mental Health Tribunal and a former Civil Servant in the courts.
Although I didn't know him we had a number of colleagues in common; some shocked people about today.
Last edited by: Bromptonaut on Wed 2 May 12 at 12:44
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Tragic indeed, but how do you drive into that unless you have your eyes shut?
According to the Telegraph, it's being blamed on satnav.
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Unless there is a highly visible depth gauge, you may assume the ford is "do-able" And indeed it might, but you don't need much depth to lift a low car off the tarmac, and then you are away down the river to much deeper water, usually upside down.
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>>Unless there is a highly visible depth gauge, you may assume the ford is "do-able"
YOU may assume it is OK but with such a water flow would ensure I selected reverse gear.
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In the same league as the idiots who drive, or even walk along sea walls when waves are breaking over them, and if they survive complain about being washed into the sea.
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There is four foot of water showing on the depth gauge in the BBC photo.
Even when Google drove past there was two foot, and warning signs to check depth.
tinyurl.com/7x5rcsn
I wouldn't attempt much more than six inches without checking where I'd be swept to.
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Its a big one for sure. I wouldn't tackle it.
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I think the water companies, especially Thames, placed a rather water logged foot in their mouths when they introduced the ban, then the heavens opened. Every day for the whole month! Thames water admitted today on the Politics Show on the Beeb that their reservoirs are full to the brim. It's the water table below ground that is too depleted. Of course we can't counter that explanation for obvious reasons. They thought that with decent weather from then to Autumn they could get by with the hose ban myth for water conservation and the need for compulsory metering. He even confirmed today that that is their next step anyway. Don't believe the hype. There is enough water, and the hose ban is negligible in stock savings.
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Inquest for Jonathan Gammon held yesterday.
Verdict was accidental death.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-20045606
tinyurl.com/8dp9wka (Mail)
As I said when first reporting I didn't know him but we had mutual colleagues.
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Does the ban apply to water from sources other than the mains supply? Anglian Water says " A hosepipe ban is now in place for all domestic customers who take their water supply from Anglian Water." I know a family which takes their water supply from Anglian Water but also has an underground tank which collects rainwater and from which they can get a pressurised supply to an outside tap. Does the ban apply to them using water from a hosepipe connected to that outside tap?
Last edited by: L'escargot on Wed 2 May 12 at 18:31
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It sounds like it is an underground water butt. If it is rain water and not mains supplied I don't see a problem. You can count on the neighbours trying a stitch up though.
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I think Mr Snail is alluding to the slightly loose wording of Anglian Water's statement which could, at a stretch, be taken to forbid any use of hosepipes by their customers, even if the water was not drawn from the mains.
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>> I think Mr Snail is alluding to.....
Exactly, and I would tell Anglian, and any nosey neighbours to get stuffed.
I was in a similar situation many years ago, I had been at sea for a couple of months and a hosepipe ban had been implemented in my absence. Having completed Mrs ONs job list I decided to wash the filthy cars. It took a neighbour about 5 minutes to tell me about the ban, at least it was done with the best of intentions as he knew that I had been away. :-)
Last edited by: Old Navy on Wed 2 May 12 at 20:10
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>> I think Mr Snail is alluding to the slightly loose wording of Anglian Water's statement
>> which could, at a stretch, be taken to forbid any use of hosepipes by their
>> customers, even if the water was not drawn from the mains.
Not so. See my post from early last month: www.car4play.com/forum/post/index.htm?t=10090&m=227667&v=e
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>> >> I think Mr Snail is alluding to the slightly loose wording of Anglian Water's
>> statement ....
>> >> See my post from early last month: www.car4play.com/forum/post/index.htm?t=10090&m=227667&v=e
Anglian Water should have made that clear in their public statements so that all their customers knew the facts, not just those who questioned them.
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Parts of England are no longer in drought following heavy rain in recent weeks, the Environment Agency has said.
Drought status has been lifted in 19 areas of south-west England, the Midlands and parts of Yorkshire following persistent rainfall.
The Environment Agency weekly drought update shows that last month was the the wettest April on record.
But eastern and south-east England remain in drought because groundwater levels remain low.
Drought status has been removed for South Yorkshire, East Yorkshire, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Bristol, parts of Gloucestershire, parts of Hampshire, most of Wiltshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Staffordshire, West Midlands, Warwickshire, Shropshire, Worcestershire and Herefordshire.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-18032552
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Drought persists in an area broadly SE of a Severn - Humber line.
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If anyone needs a new hosepipe, B&Q still has plenty for sale.
:-D
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Bedford had to cancel this weekend's 149th annual regatta because of too much water. The first time since the war.
They've still got a hosepipe ban!
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Thames Water has relaxed its hosepipe ban, but only for gardening businesses:
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-18139185
I'm glad to say the last thing our garden needs at the moment is more water :)
Last edited by: Focus on Tue 22 May 12 at 08:18
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I gave the car a quick hose down this morning, the rocks in the garden don't grow much and the shrubs look after themselves. Last weeks rain gave the area a good wash. :-)
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>> I gave the car a quick hose down this morning, ..........
.
Stop bragging ~ just because you don't have a hosepipe ban.
:-)
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has anyone been done for using a hose pipe yet?
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...has anyone been done for using a hose pipe yet?...
Yes, for interrogating a prisoner.
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There's a rumour going round that in order for them to cope with all the rain we're getting , some water authorities are considering making the use of hosepipes compulsory. The fine for not using a hosepipe would be up to £1000.
It never rains but it pours.
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>>some water authorities are considering making the use of hosepipes compulsory.
We never had a ban, but even if we had I would have still used the one I have connected to the water-supply at one end, and the shower-head at the other! - what defines "hosepipe" ?
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I don't think the definition of a hosepipe is important. The ban prohibited the use of water for specific purposes. Your hosepipe which has a shower head at the outlet end wouldn't be capable of directly carrying out the banned uses. Here's Anglian Water's prohibition notice. tinyurl.com/cuxxp5p
Last edited by: L'escargot on Tue 10 Jul 12 at 06:52
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Hosepipe Ban Volume 6. - L'escargot
