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flash flooding

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I had an update from my MP this morning and she said that lots of her (London) constituents had complained about the recent flash floods that occurred here the other morning, demanding to know what was going to be done.
They don't seem to realise that they have caused it, what with their paved over gardens to park thier cars on and their patios Etc :mad:
Should we stop or restrict people paving over their gardens like this?
(thinking of Sue here who doesnt appear to have made an appearance in this forum).
 
hash tag said:
I had an update from my MP this morning and she said that lots of her (London) constituents had complained about the recent flash floods that occurred here the other morning, demanding to know what was going to be done.
They don't seem to realise that they have caused it, what with their paved over gardens to park thier cars on and their patios Etc :mad:
Should we stop or restrict people paving over their gardens like this?
Click to expand...
Yes.

And we need further restrictions on piping surface water from new developments into water courses.

And we need land to be put aside for flooding. The water has to go somewhere.

And we need swales. And balancing ponds. And moar grass. And beavers. And a miiiiiiillion other things that upset capitalists because they cost money.

But mostly we need land. Lots of land.
 
I think they changed the planning rules so that any paved area over a certain area had to be water-permeable but I'm not sure how well it's enforced.

It's not really enough on its own in heavily built up areas. There are at least two roads near me which flood regularly as a result of run-off from over-development which the drains can't cope with. One patch was flooded earlier this week when we had heavy overnight rain.

Sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) need to be considered a critical part of any development or renovation but I don't think enough is being done.
 
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A slight aside, when was the last time you saw a gully sucker in action? When I was a lad, they used to regularly drive round the streets, these days they only seem to appear following an incident.
 
I hate my patio but it came with the house. I've looked into getting rid of it but it would be at least a couple of grand that I don't have. It has come in useful during lockdown (for kids playing and for family dinners when garden visits were allowed) but it floods when it rains heavily and must add tonnes to the rainwater drains.
 
One of the other factors which could mitigate against flash flooding is vegetation. According to a survey done by the Royal Horticultural Society in 2016 not only have one in four of all UK front gardens been paved over but one in three do not have any plants. The addition of appropriate plants, particularly hedges, in front gardens (and elsewhere) can help to reduce rain water run off as well as provide other benefits such as cutting air pollution, noise reduction and also providing habitats for wildlife.

Hedges: choices with environmental benefits

Unlike fences and walls, hedges provide benefits for us and the wildlife that lives in our gardens. They have the natural ability to capture pollution, reduce noise, mitigate flooding and provide food and shelter to wildlife.
www.rhs.org.uk www.rhs.org.uk
 
maomao said:
I hate my patio but it came with the house. I've looked into getting rid of it but it would be at least a couple of grand that I don't have. It has come in useful during lockdown (for kids playing and for family dinners when garden visits were allowed) but it floods when it rains heavily and must add tonnes to the rainwater drains.
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laid a patio the other year and more through good fortune than design it drains very nicely. might be worth seeing what's under the thing (assuming it's not a body) to see if you can improve drainage.
 
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Pickman's model said:
laid a patio the other year and more through good fortune than design it drains very nicely. might be worth seeing what's under the thing (assuming it's not a body) to see if you can improve drainage.
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It's a block patio with an inch of sand and a waterproof membrane under it. It does eventually drain into the rain water drain but that's the problem: everyone has patios and it comes out of the drains in the next street along which is slightly lower down.
 
maomao said:
It's a block patio with an inch of sand and a waterproof membrane under it. It does eventually drain into the rain water drain but that's the problem: everyone has patios and it comes out of the drains in the next street along which is slightly lower down.
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ah. mine has six inches of sand beneath it and earth under that.
 
Leafster said:
One of the other factors which could mitigate against flash flooding is vegetation. According to a survey done by the Royal Horticultural Society in 2016 not only have one in four of all UK front gardens been paved over but one in three do not have any plants. The addition of appropriate plants, particularly hedges, in front gardens (and elsewhere) can help to reduce rain water run off as well as provide other benefits such as cutting air pollution, noise reduction and also providing habitats for wildlife.

Hedges: choices with environmental benefits

Unlike fences and walls, hedges provide benefits for us and the wildlife that lives in our gardens. They have the natural ability to capture pollution, reduce noise, mitigate flooding and provide food and shelter to wildlife.
www.rhs.org.uk www.rhs.org.uk
Click to expand...
I like to think most people have the sense to realise this. No doubt the UK solution will be to build things with concrete and chop more trees down.
 
Badgers said:
I like to think most people have the sense to realise this. No doubt the UK solution will be to build things with concrete and chop more trees down.
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Sadly, I think many people think hedges are hard work so opt for the easy option of a fence. It's the same with other vegetation - concrete, decking or even the abomination that is artificial grass are all considered low maintenance easy options when there are loads of low maintenance plants which could be used instead. The plants would provide loads of other benefits too.
 
Leafster said:
One of the other factors which could mitigate against flash flooding is vegetation. According to a survey done by the Royal Horticultural Society in 2016 not only have one in four of all UK front gardens been paved over but one in three do not have any plants. The addition of appropriate plants, particularly hedges, in front gardens (and elsewhere) can help to reduce rain water run off as well as provide other benefits such as cutting air pollution, noise reduction and also providing habitats for wildlife.

Hedges: choices with environmental benefits

Unlike fences and walls, hedges provide benefits for us and the wildlife that lives in our gardens. They have the natural ability to capture pollution, reduce noise, mitigate flooding and provide food and shelter to wildlife.
www.rhs.org.uk www.rhs.org.uk
Click to expand...
Which is roughly where I started.
 
not the ideal thread for this but

01pztn4b8ly71.jpg



Stats on that very context dependent - such as central africa - but gives an idea
 
Councils over here are still allowing residential buildings to be built in areas that historically were flood plains.
Then when they flood everyone is "surprised"...
 
Near to me is a Burn [small stream catchment] that eventually drains into the Tyne.
A few years ago there was a decent thunderstorm and the accompanying deluge resulted in some - only a few - properties being flooded and other localised damage from the sudden peak flow event.
The upper part of this catchment now has various attempts to slow and flatten the peak event, installed as an academic study exercise. A combination of overflow ponds and tree-trunk "dams" designed to hold back the runoff and release it slowly.
Storms Ciara & Dennis in February 2020 provided a good work out for the ponds (I wasn't about to wander downstream to look at the timber heaps). this image is taken, during yet more heavy rain, a few days after the latter, with the ground already saturated. In fact, there has been even more water than the retention ponds can easily cope with !


wst - The Sike flooded par StoneRoad2013, on ipernity
 
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