paulr

Do sandbags really stop water coming through, can't it get between the gaps?

Isn't it better to

A, put silicone sealer around the door
B, have some sort of detachable water barrier around the bottom of the door.

Can water enter the house any other way apart from the door?

Like I say, I might be missing something obvious.

stevebt

iTrader: (8)

Water will enter a house thru the brickwork and I don.t think silicone sealer will help Sand bags placed a good distance from the property will protect it.

LSherratt

iTrader: (1)

Pretty sure that sandbags can only do so much, but once the water reaches a certain level or hangs around the bags for so long, it'll eventually work it's way through the tiny gaps around the bags (that's my guess anyway).

Sealant would probably better but surely you'd have to apply that when it's all dry and before the floods actually hit? Plus I bet the water would work its way through anyway looking at the devastation that's been caused recently!

The best thing to do would be to clear all the silt from the rivers and for people to stop throwing so much sh1te into our waters!

tubbytommy

iTrader: (20)

sandbags are just a measure to help if the water isnt to high, they do work.

paulr

Sealing the door is probably not a good idea.

However, google shows you can get flood boards that seal the bottom of the door.
Does water seep through bricks.

tubbytommy

iTrader: (20)

bricks are porous so eventually yes, but short term no

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

Of course, if the water companies weren't both trousering and paying their profits to shareholders, there MIGHT actually be some left for dredging, ditch and dyke maintenance pump maintenance, bank maintenance, weed-clearance etc etc.

But hey, what do I know?

Cpt Jack Sparrow

iTrader: (14)

Although they stop an amount of water they can't prevent flooding.

What they do do however is filter water and reduce the mud and soil damage

Aaron1978

iTrader: (12)

Ditches and dykes are generally owned by the landowner.

The IDB and the EA are who should be getting the grief, as they are the ones who are normally supposed to make whoever owns the dyke/ditch/rivers maintain them.

neil-h

Now why more people in flood prone areas don't have these I don't know. It's not like there new technology.

f1_fan

iTrader: (9)

In the village where I live it regularly floods on the main road due to all the drainage culverts being blocked as the decison to stop clearing them was taken a decade or so ago.

All the shops have permanent flood board installations that they can deploy as soon as the levels start rising and they do work. The ones that don't have this have sandbags instead..... and wet shops when it floods.... I think that answers your question.

SiPie

http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-magazine-monitor-26187262

Chip

Obviously nothing, as for the 20 or 30 years before privatisation there was no dredging or ditch and dyke maintenance then either.

£85 billion has been invested in water infrastructure since privatisation except in Scotland where the industry is still in the public domain. Water rates there are the same as other water utilities but there has been less investment and a it has lot more debt. In fact Scottish water still has to be subsidised by the taxpayer to survive.

Buy hey, lets not let a few facts get in the way of a good moan eh.

CharlySkunkWeed

iTrader: (7)

Aren't sandbags just to divert the water away from the property ?

Ayde

iTrader: (6)

This along with the local councils being responsible for gulley sucking out the street drains etc...

The water companies would be penalised heavily by the EA and OFWAT if it was their responsibility and it hadn't been carried out.

f1_fan

iTrader: (9)

Water companies were privatised in 1989, regular dredging of rivers surrounding the Somerset levels ceased in 1991! What was that you were saying about facts getting in the way of a good moan?!

Steve's Sti

iTrader: (2)

Buy some inflatable paddling pools as nothin will stop the water

riiidaa

iTrader: (2)

news report i watched showed them to be useless, and they were fitted by council

they do bugger all if the water comes up through the ground and then flooring anyway

The Trooper 1815

iTrader: (31)

Water will come back up the ****ter, through vent bricks and the more paved areas you have the less soakaways for water.

neil-h

Horses for courses. Yes for ground water flooding then there no help but for surface water/run off then they will make a difference.

Brun

Another random question - too much water on Earth. Can we no build a huge pump/pipe and pump a load into space?

JackClark

Pretty sure I heard that dredging wouldn't help anyway as the weirs hold the water back.

neil-h

Depends on the gate configuration and if they are/aren't controllable. For instance a lot of the weirs on the Thames are controllable, so to a certain extent the height of the Thames can be set at various point by opening/closing weirs as required.

specialx

This I would pay to see well I'd probably be paying for it anyway!

urban

iTrader: (1)

Transport a load of it to Africa and Ethiopia etvc - they're always complaining about no water.

Richy P1984

Sand bags are best used with an impermeable membrane (plastic sheeting of some description). They are good for the short term, but after a while the water will find its way in.

Problem with sandbags is once the event is over, they can often become home to bacteria, and then have to be disposed off as hazardous waste - not cheap.

People keep going on about dredging - its not the be all and end all of flood prevention, its one of a few exercises that can be carried out to help prevent minor events - but with the current conditions, it wouldn't have made much difference.

If you don't want flooding, leave the floodplains alone, and don't live within silly distances of the sea.

riiidaa

iTrader: (2)

those silly sods that spent Valentines at a beach front restaurant got lucky imo, what the hell were they thinking

tony de wonderful

River management is apparently quite a complex and counter-intuitive science. For example 'improving' a river can actually make flooding worse or shift it to somewhere else up or down stream.

From what I can tell - as a laymen who has read a few articles - our major problem is not having enough trees and vegetation in catchment areas. Instead our farmers keep grassland as they get subsidies for it. Having trees radically improves the soils ability to soak up the rain and stop it running straight off.

hodgy0_2

Yes you can see "dredging" as the new simple solution to the countries problems especially for the green welly brigade

Any back to the original question

Line the rivers with immigrants head to toe - wearing waterproof clothing, and smeared in used engine oil, should do the job

tony de wonderful

How much has been sucked out in 'profit'?