‘New’ type of rain causing flooding - Environment Agency
A "NEW" type of rain could be causing flooding in Gloucestershire, according to the chairman of the Environment Agency.
The county has faced repeated deluges since November with water levels remaining high.
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House on stilts in Sandhurst Lane
Lord Smith told the Sunday Telegraph: "We are experiencing a new kind of rain. Instead of rain sweeping in a curtain across the country, we are getting convective rain, which sits in one place and just dumps itself in a deluge over a long period of time.
"From the point of view of filling up the rivers and the drains, that is quite severe."
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But The Citizen's weather expert Ian Thomas is not convinced. He said: "It is true that rain does sit on parts of the country for a day or two, but that has always happened and we saw it in 1968 when five inches of rain fell overnight.
"We are getting more torrential rain and rainfall is slightly heavier than we used to have. But I believe we're having more flooding because the drains are not being cleared properly and we are concreting over so much of the country.
"I cannot see there is any substance in the claim we are having a new kind of rain."
Dawn Ray, of Sandhurst, agreed. She and husband Sam spent £100,000 raising their Riverside Villas home 12ft off the ground on stilts.
Their home was under four feet water in the severe floods of 2007.
It also flooded in 1990 and 2000, but the couple had no problems before that despite living in the same house since 1976.
She said: "I think the problems are caused because we keep building on flood plains. The northern bypass was built and it has no coverts and the cattle market was built on a floodplain. We just cannot understand how people can keep building on floodplains.
"The ditches around the canals are not cleaned out like they used to and the silt is not being dredged by the barge."
3 Comments
by Matt1006
Monday, February 04 2013, 10:24AM
“So, it's prolonged slow-moving downpours then. Which is nothing new.
Next time we have a drought, will it be because of a "different type of sunshine"? Wonder if we'll see a "new type of snow" before this winter is done?
As this has come from the Chairman of the EA, it could almost be viewed as an excuse / deflection of blame away from his agency. OK, the EA can't be blamed for the rain (be it this "new" type, or old) falling from the sky, but can can be partly blamed for failing to maintain water courses, and also for not blocking inappropriate development that then causes more surface run-off in the wrong locations.
Don't suppose he knows when / if we'll get our "old" type of rain back...???”
by chr1582
Monday, February 04 2013, 9:41AM
“new type of rain?? not really a new type of rain then is it?
lord smith's commets in plain english:
Instead of rain sweeping in a curtain across the country, we are getting convective rain, which sits in one place and just dumps itself in a deluge over a long period of time.
IN ENGLISH:
Instead of wind and rain we will be getting rain that has minimal wind with it thus making it seem as though is sitting in one place.”
by Walker100
Monday, February 04 2013, 8:56AM
“And the council built the massive land fill on the flood plain. Acres and acres of flood plain gone and more still going. And then they sit there scratching their heads saying "Why is the flooding getting worse?"
If you're not convinced look at the landfill footprint in 1990 and look at it now.”