A radical approach to flood management

[dan_b]

An interesting read of a re-wilding project in Somerset.

(also interesting to note that in Ye Olde English, "Somerset" literally meant "that place you could only settle in summer" - ie it was a floody boggy salt marsh for the rest of the year!)

And also interesting given its proximity to Hinkley Point!

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/22/worl ... =url-share

[AE-NMidlands]

A good article, very nice to read. Thanks.
(Reminds me of the book about Knepp, where they found that they made more money from their wild-ranging organic beef than they had from trying to be a dairy farm.)
A

[resybaby]

Been involved with the water industry my whole life and its the one force of nature that man will never be able to control fully. Hence all the many water industry failings.
What i just dont get, especially now given the demands for huge bill increases, is why isnt rainwater harvesting a madatory requirement to mitigate at least some of the problem? its a pretty simple concept and relatively cheap and easy to do.

[AE-NMidlands]

What i just dont get, especially now given the demands for huge bill increases, is why isnt rainwater harvesting a madatory requirement to mitigate at least some of the problem? its a pretty simple concept and relatively cheap and easy to do.

I would guess for the same reason that houses aren't required to have pv or even to be pv-ready. Developers have been the biggest funders of the Tory party for the last few decades. We wouldn't want to do anything which might damage their profits, would we?

[resybaby]

What i just dont get, especially now given the demands for huge bill increases, is why isnt rainwater harvesting a madatory requirement to mitigate at least some of the problem? its a pretty simple concept and relatively cheap and easy to do.

I would guess for the same reason that houses aren't required to have pv or even to be pv-ready. Developers have been the biggest funders of the Tory party for the last few decades. We wouldn't want to do anything which might damage their profits, would we?

Probably right there but all this flooding/Poo on beaches etc is getting to be of far higher importance nowadays, and it is just not financially afordable to replace all the undersized sewers and drains. So remove some of the offending deluge at source to flush the loo with. Easy. Oddly build regs are looking for reductions in water usage in houses, so the oppo to hit two birds with one stone is there for the taking. My view is people, in the main, are just to lazy or dont think things through sufficently - far easier to moan and do nothing constructive.
Neither water company ive worked for do anything about 'real' promotion of the issue, then close their eyes to the resultant floods and just blame climate change. Should take the lead really imv.
Good read though