On Tuesday, December 8, 2015 at 11:29:21 AM UTC, Martin Brown wrote:
On 07/12/2015 22:59, Crusader wrote:
The Environment agency sensor density has increased 10 fold in the last 18 years,
so there probably wasn't a sensor in all of the current locations
until recent years.
This puts into perspective the claims of "wettest" records all over
the place in the
last 8 years or so. "Since records began" might be only 18 years or
so for most sensors.

Malham cove has been there for quite a long geological time.
No one in living memory can recall seeing it with a waterfall over it.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england...shire-35026529

The elephant in the room id definitely the amount and location of land development
into housing and retail parks etc since the 1980s. Carlisle etc. have
had many floods
over the decades but the much faster run-off and greater coverage of
concrete, tarmac
and roof area means that water rushes downhill to pinch points and
housing on flood plains in minutes instead of days.

Here you have a *VERY* good point. There was a very good reason why
certain well known locally areas were used as school playing fields or
parks. Because they were known to flood and so avoided for development.

The hubris of modern developers means that they will build on any land
they can get planning permission for and cash strapped councils will aid
and abet them by selling off the school playing fields. Then they wonder
why schoolchildren are obese and lack exercise.

We need to admit the real problems before we can solve them.

One of the serious problems is building new houses on known dodgy flood
plains. There is a new build close to me where they had to stop work
completely last year because the whole site was under water!

Heaven help the punters who have now bought them and moved in when the
inevitable happens - as it surely will. Free moat with every home...

I feel London is sleepwalking in to a massive mistake with the latest plans to develop every remaining scrap of floodplain.

https://wansteadmeteo.wordpress.com/...h-development/

https://wansteadmeteo.wordpress.com/...the-east-plan/

Planners will say that there is a risk of flooding but it is within Environment Agency guidelines. However, what if these guidelines are way off?

Luke Howard once wrote that the River Lea that runs into the Thames was once a 'mile wide' in 1809. However, it took until the disastrous floods of 1947 for the government to do something and the River Lea navigation was designed and built over decades, the equivalent of billions in today's money was spent. But it worked. However, this system in recent years has twice come close to failing.

https://wansteadmeteo.wordpress.com/...s-a-mile-wide/

If developers really want to put buildings on floodplain they, and not the government, should shoulder most of the cost of upgraded flood defences.