Flooding event, 25th June 2007
On June 25th 2007 it rained. It also rained the day before, and the day before that. It rained so much in the days leading up to the 25th that the rivers, ditches, and drains were unable to cope with the amount of water swilling about and as a consequence, we saw flooding in places where no floods had occurred in living memory. A ’Once in 200 years event’, (according to the Met Office).
Too many words, skip to the end.
The cause of the floods was primarily due to the rain of course, but many years of neglecting the drainage channels, ditches and culverts also played a part. Since the flood, the local drains which had been untouched for years, were cleaned out and restored to working order. This has thus far prevented a reoccurrence of the flooding.
The floods were not restricted to West Halton of course, everywhere in the county and beyond were affected by the flooding, some far worse than others. The problem was so widespread and serious that Sir Michael Pitt conducted an independent review of the way the events were managed, and came up with 92 recommendations to help mediate any reoccurrence. This was accepted by the government at the time and the various ministries set about implementing these recommendations and although a lot of hot air was generated, both at the time and shortly afterwards, many of the proposals were quietly abandoned later on, because they were not politically expedient. This is why in November 2019, a similar event caused widespread flooding in the surrounding areas; Because of which, there will no doubt be another enquiry and another report, some more recommendations, and and of course, a subsequent failure to act on said recommendations...
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Causes of flooding are many and varied. Flooding is normally caused by natural weather events such as heavy rainfall and thunderstorms over a short period, or prolonged, extensive rainfall, or even high tides combined with stormy conditions. It is also predicted that climate change will increase the risk of flooding in the UK and other parts of the world as the ice caps melt and sea level creeps ever higher. The atmosphere's water-holding capacity increases by about 6 percent for every 1°C rise in temperature. More rainfall is likely when a storm passes through a warmer atmosphere holding more water.
Other factors that can also cause or contribute to flooding, include poor maintenance, faulty sewer networks, poor or insufficient drainage networks and inadequate maintenance of watercourses. Development and planning issues, where inappropriate development on flood plains or otherwise building on land in a way that prevents rainfall from draining away naturally, this includes roads and car parks that are impermeable to water and only increase the risk of flooding from rainwater run-off. Badly designed or defective flood defence schemes can prevent flooding in one area only to increase the flooding risk in another.
TL;DR - Conclusion.
A really good idea? I think not, but the politicians will not be the ones to suffer when it all goes horribly wrong, and all the back-handers and transparent shady deals will no doubt create a bit more wealth for the elites in charge.
Now Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his time; Noah walked with God. Seeing that the earth was corrupt and filled with bankers, lawyers and politicians, God instructed Noah to build an ark in which he, his sons, and their wives and girlfriends, together with a male and a female of all living creatures, would be saved from the inundation. Noah entered the ark in his six hundredth year, and on the 17th of February in that year "the fountains of the Great Deep burst apart and the floodgates of heaven broke open" and it rained for forty days and forty nights until the highest mountains were covered 15 cubits, and all life on earth perished except Noah and those with him in the ark....
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