for flood planning ?

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gil
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 08 Jun 2005
Posts: 18415

Posted: Fri Nov 11, 05 2:14 pm Post subject: for flood planning ?

now that rainfall up here looks set to increase from its already not inconsiderable levels, and the threat of flooding is more frequent, with new areas that never suffered before becoming subject to it.....

time to share flood defence and planning information, hints and tips...

All I've come up with (and done) so far is :
outside :
a) phone the Council Roads Department and get new sandbags delivered - the covering of the old ones had rotted
b) make sure all house drains are running freely
c) check field drains regularly and deal with

inside :
d) put all movable stuff (especially of use / value) upstairs when the river rises
e) get the floor-length curtains well off the floor
f) unplug all electrics and switch off at the wall

what plans etc do other Downsizers have ? what have you done in the past that's worked ?

sean
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 42219
Location: North Devon

Posted: Fri Nov 11, 05 2:17 pm Post subject:
Our last house was on flood plain. There's a floodwatch early warning system (I think you'd get details from your local water co, or possibly the council), if you sign up then they will phone you with an assessment of the level of risk when it rains.

gil
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 08 Jun 2005
Posts: 18415

Posted: Fri Nov 11, 05 2:33 pm Post subject:
yes, good point. depends on which river, or what the local Council thinks is important enough. here, you get flood warnings for the main rivers and towns / main roads, but not the river tributaries, never mind the upper reaches of these, which are somehow assumed not to flood, but just to cause it further downstream. And too sparsely populated here to make it worthwhile their bothering.

thos

Joined: 08 Mar 2005
Posts: 1139
Location: Jauche, Duchy of Brabant (Bourgogne-ci) and Charolles, Duchy of Burgundy (Bourgogne-�a)

Posted: Fri Nov 11, 05 2:50 pm Post subject:

The best defence is to live on a slope.

From being brought up in Bolton I have always ensured that there is always a run-off everywhere I lived - even in London. You don't need to be much higher than the surroundings to ensure it is very unlikely you will flood.

The only exception was when I rented a house on a floodplain for 18 months. Whenever it rained heavily we had a lake on the other side of the road. The house was basically built on a concrete raft with a double wall round it that had to be pumped out every few days. It was worry enough to ensure I never did it again.

Jonnyboy

Joined: 29 Oct 2004
Posts: 23956
Location: under some rain.

Posted: Fri Nov 11, 05 2:53 pm Post subject:
We live next to a stream that rises considerably in heavy rain due to run off. We built up the founds to give us about 10ft height, and the field across from us is lower. I'm also going to place rocks ourside to prevent erosion in heavy flow.

jamsam

Joined: 21 Oct 2005
Posts: 2560
Location: erm....i dont know, its dark.

Posted: Fri Nov 11, 05 3:04 pm Post subject:
i live right between 3 rivers and amountain, so you can guess what fun ive had this week, runoff from the mountain, all the rivers burst the banks, half the hedges keeping the floods out had to be pulled own to get the animals out and i had to abandon my car. my tips: move to the sahara!!! or a block of flats!

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45674
Location: Essex

Posted: Fri Nov 11, 05 3:05 pm Post subject:
Blimey jamsam, did you lose any livestock?

Jonnyboy

Joined: 29 Oct 2004
Posts: 23956
Location: under some rain.

Posted: Fri Nov 11, 05 3:08 pm Post subject:

jamsam wrote:

i live right between 3 rivers and amountain, so you can guess what fun ive had this week, runoff from the mountain, all the rivers burst the banks, half the hedges keeping the floods out had to be pulled own to get the animals out and i had to abandon my car. my tips:
move to the sahara!!! or a block of flats!

flippin eck

gil
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 08 Jun 2005
Posts: 18415

Posted: Fri Nov 11, 05 3:16 pm Post subject:

jamsam wrote:

i live right between 3 rivers and amountain, so you can guess what fun ive had this week,

thought it might be something like that, from your previous post on the getting organised thread. and a houseful of family too.
I sympathise - I've got a small river, two tributaries and hills all around. this week wasn't as bad as a couple of weeks ago, for me, though the river is eroding the field on the other side at a tremendous rate, and will have to be repaired with rock, rather than the usual gravel.

jamsam wrote:

runoff from the mountain, all the rivers burst the banks, half the hedges keeping the floods out had to be pulled own to get the animals out and i had to abandon my car.

that sounds serious. are your livestock alright ? does the car still go ? did the house flood too ? hope not much if any damage.

gil
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 08 Jun 2005
Posts: 18415

Posted: Fri Nov 11, 05 3:25 pm Post subject:

tip for downsizers with rivers on their land:

apparently, as from March 2006, if you want to repair riverbed erosion caused by flooding with gravel or rock, you will have to seek planning permission. each time you do a repair. and pay the relevant fee. �70?. at least, this is what my neighbour told me. (he's the one doing the rock repairs in my previous post)

also, up here (elsewhere too ?) you already can't do river repairs from October to March in case it disturbs fish spawning grounds.

there is an argument for letting rivers wander where they will. that's what they always used to do. have posted elsewhere on this forum about my two neighbours' propensity to reshape the river valley... and I think it has upset the balance of water flow down the hills and along the valley. minor flooding less often, but far worse when it does happen.

jema
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 28237
Location: escaped from Swindon

Posted: Fri Nov 11, 05 6:31 pm Post subject:
Our only plan is for plenty of boiling oil to fend off the refugees trying to climb our hill :whdat: :whdat:

Treacodactyl
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Fri Nov 11, 05 6:49 pm Post subject:
From what I can recall from something on TV a few days back they were encouraging people to take gradual steps whenever you are doing something to your house. Flood proof doors (don't forget those air bricks) water proof plaster on the groud floor walls, and moving sockets to a few foot up the walls (I would have thought the ring main should drop down from the ceiling to each socket).

hils

Joined: 08 Mar 2005
Posts: 568
Location: Nottingham

Posted: Fri Nov 11, 05 7:09 pm Post subject:
This has been really interesting and helpful to read! I've spent the last few days finalising(ish as I'm not good at permanant decisions!) plans for the (water) mill cottage. Obviously I will have a serious threat of flooding so the socket idea is great - pretty obvious too!. Does anyone know if councils in England give out sand bags?

Treacodactyl
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Fri Nov 11, 05 8:20 pm Post subject:
It would also be worth looking here: https://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/subjects/flood/ It has a map that shows flood areas. Prepare your house from flooding: https://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/subjects/flood/826674/830330/ Here's a pdf of what to do: https://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/commondata/acrobat/167219

gil
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 08 Jun 2005
Posts: 18415

Posted: Fri Nov 11, 05 8:33 pm Post subject:

hils wrote:

Obviously I will have a serious threat of flooding so the socket idea is great - pretty obvious too!. Does anyone know if councils in England give out sand bags?

Has the mill cottage has ever been flooded in the past ? I asked a friend of mine who lives in a mill whether she'd ever been flooded, and much to my surprise, the answer was no, because the mill had been positioned above possible flood levels, when it was built way back. Mind you, thought my house would be safe because there had been a dwelling on the site for centuries (including a mill), but they didn't have to contend with global warming and Capability Brown neighbours

if the council don't, they ought to. if your area is prone to flooding, they should give you sandbags; if not, they'll probably be so surprised they'll give you some anyway.

And you don't have to wait until it's an emergency to ask.

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