The floods have arrived

Would it work to do it the other way round? Ie, fill from rainwater in winter and use to boost the Thames in summer?

In my last post I meant West Hagborne - not Harborne!

That was never put forward so I assume that was not possible. It would have been a banked reservoir rather than a valley reservoir so that although the ground would be excavated to provide a great hole, it was going to be surrounded by banks 80 foot high also filled with water.

I can't see why it wouldn't. The rivers seem to be getting very low and dry some summers.

Sort of variation on the De Norwick pump storage scheme, but for water rather than electricity.

All a bit technical for me, but you seem to know all about it, FlicketyB, I did think the sodden fields the main problem though, rather than the rivers.
In the end, some years just will be very bad, though it seems now that dredging [Somerset] will go ahead for them hopefully.
Annodomini my daughter works in Didcot and will no doubt be delighted if she can't get into work! Not.She can always get the bus as presumably buses can get through the roads there?

Tesco's loss was Waitrose's gain, as thankfully they were open for business, but heaving with all the Tesco shoppers!Waitrose customers didn't like that!!

Only because my late DH worked on the De Norwick project. It's very ingenious. You should look it up!

Oh! I shop at Tesco, Waitrose, Sainsbury's, Lidl, M&S! Morrison's (this week) wherever, don't want to be typecast.

DH used to work in Didcot and travel there every day.

Remember when they were telling us the aquifers were nearly empty and Monty Don was urging us to plant Mediterranean plants? That doesn't seem very long ago. The lavenders and Med. Herbs are looking very soggy.

We went past Tesco yesterday and the fields all around it were underwater and we said we thought it might flood.

I am a Waitrose shopper, I have no objection to anyone shopping there But I can see that those who usually shop there on a Saturday, when it would be very crowded, would not be happy to have thousands of people who normally shop elsewhere adding to the crowds. Tesco is much, much larger than Waitrose. There are two co-op stores in the town some could have gone there, but we do not have many supermarkets around here compared with many areas.

I can imagine all those Tesco customers squeezing into that Waitrose which I also know quite well. My DiL formerly worked there.

Our nearest Waitrose is very small and doesn't have a coffee shop

Day 3. The floods are retreating but parts of our road are still flooded. Had a bad night last night because of the wind. That other side of recent weather, strong winds is causing us real worries.

Just before Christmas we noticed damp patches in two bedrooms either side of the main chimney stack. It didn't take long to find the cause of our problem. Electricity reaches our house by an aerial cable from a pole 150 feet away and is attached to the house on the chimney stack. 150 feet of electricity cable bouncing around in recent winds has loosened the chimney, the flaunching (concrete fillet between roof and chimney) is cracked and leaking.

The Electricity company say that the only solution is to run the supply underground. This means getting builders to come in and dig a trench, 150 foot long and 18 inches deep from pole to house. This includes digging up the lawn, taking up the steps between patio and garden and part of the patio. The Electricity company will then come in and lay the new supply cable, then the builder comes in, fills the trench, rebuilds patio steps and patio and, finally repairs the chimney, we are busy arranging all this but it can't be sorted overnight, meanwhile at the moment every time we have strong winds, we sleep badly.

Ah well we are off to France tonight for three days. We have a house there that hasn't been visited since early January. We are leaving all our contact details with our neighbours - and keys and hoping that the (English) house can remain dry and with a chimney until we return.

Margaret, I seem to recall that last summer, there were calls for the canals to be linked up so that the reservoirs down south could have our water from Kielder.

Possibly in the TV area, as Thames Water seem unable to manage anything except their profit margins?

They shouldn't be asking for it next summer - if they do I would think there would be a lynch mob out calls for resignations

durhamjen, that proposal goes back to the long hot summer of 1976 and was dug up again last year. No doubt the same will happen every time we have a drought - unlikely as such an event may seem right now.

Thinking of everyone who may be near the flood risk areas. Hope you keep very safe tonight.

And from me!
Seriously, if anyone in the Somerset region needs emergency accommodation.
I do have a spare room.

That's GN members only. Not friends or neighbours , unless vouched for and a real emergency

Don't think so Anno, Kielder wasn't finished until 1981.

Galen, that's a very touching response. You're a star!

Galen that is such a lovely thing to offer

I note that now the SE is at risk, the army etc is being called in.
We are the poor neighbours down here in the SW!

Yes - they do seem to be getting the military out a bit quicker for the nobs in Berkshire! - but maybe it has just taken them all this time to work out what needs doing from experience in Somerset.

One of the problems in the South East is ground water coming up into homes, roads etc not altogether due to overflowing rivers. They are stopping the ground water falling. No amount of sandbagging stops ground water rising up through floorboards etc.
We had such a high water pressure from ground water a few years ago we had fountains in the floor of the garage. Be now have land drains but they are finding it hard to cope and we live near the top of a hill on sandstone.