Wet, Wet, Wet

[stuart little]

Andrew Neil, many years ago - I feel embarrassed when telling American friends that I live on a wet island that's short of water.

If Ireland gets too much water, would it become a paddy field!

 

[niall Y]

I don't think all of Europe is under water. The north of Italy seems to be experiencing wildfires

 

[Lefley]

Andrew Neil, many years ago - I feel embarrassed when telling American friends that I live on a wet island that's short of water.

How can you guys be short of water when it rains every day? hong kong has been using salt water in there toilets for 50 years. they now use in air conditioners and cooling systems.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Because we've allowed the population to increase 10 million since 1997 (only 2 million in the two decades before) with absolutely no thought to any infrastructure. Well, millions of us have thought about it but it seems government's mottos have always been ignore it, it'll go away.

We still build huge housing estates with no grey water systems.

 

[Lefley]

Because we've allowed the population to increase 10 million since 1997 (only 2 million in the two decades before) with absolutely no thought to any infrastructure. Well, millions of us have thought about it but it seems government's mottos have always been ignore it, it'll go away.

We still build huge housing estates with no grey water systems.

We are in the same boat. Our govt let in 900,000 East Indians etc, last month alone, saying we had a labour shortgage, when all the big businesses scooped these people up on 5 year contracts for garbage wages. Now young people can't find work, at McDonald's etc, as they have all hired these foreign workers. And we have a huge housing shortage now , which in turn drives inflation up, which drives interest rates up to try and curb inflation, which brings us to a recession. When all govt had to say was hire local labour, and pay them a decent wage.

 

[JimJay]

It's dry and around 6C here above Sofia. The last of the c50cm of snow that fell 10 days ago has melted in the garden, but there's more forecast for the New Year.

 

[Keith Cocker]

If Ireland gets too much water, would it become a paddy field!

I’m offended!! This should be in the joke thread

 

[jsjwilson]

Sympathise. In the last bout of severe wet weather, the burn burst its banks and ran 100m past a cottage, high enough to be safe, and then over our drive, and down into my workshop. When I got down to the workshop, it was in six inches of water, with stream mud/sediment over everything. Quite a few of my hand machines were submerged (drill, angle grinder, nailer), I had temporarily put my grinder on the floor shifting stuff around in a tidy up I had just completed, and this was partially submerged. My extractor had tipped over and the motor end was in the water. My wee lad's tool chest had got full of water too, and his workbench I was building for him was also a bit damaged. I found the drain outside had become blocked with detritus, but clearing this, the water coming in was way greater than the water out. So I went up to where the burn had burst its banks, and had to take several cedar rounds I have using them to build a bund to with soil to divert the water away from the garage and back to the burn. Then the lady next door come over and game me an earful for flooding her house. She seemed to think the weather and a burn breaching its banks was all down to me. Another neighbour turned up, not to complain, but to offer a hand, helping me to complete the bund, and this solved the acute problem.

I have left it there, and just as well I did because it saved the garage this time too. I rescued all my tools and put them in front of the stove in the house. Over the next few weeks, I have one by one tried them, and amazingly, they all work!! I still haven't finished the workshop cleanup. There is sediment on every surface the water touched, and while it is now dry, it doesn't come off with a hoover. You have to scrape it off with scraper and then hoover it. Now my thoughts are turning to how to ensure nothing like this ever happens again, even with the climate dysregulation likely to make these events much worse than they already are.

Another side effect of the rain is it has brought rats out and into the house. Dealt with, except there is now at least one dead rat somewhere in the house. We have new leaks in both our chimneys and no availability of roofers locally. So, I'm pretty hacked off with the incessant wet weather.

And whoever said it, yes, the water companies haven't invested in new resevoirs for decades, even though warned that failure to do this would necessitate desalination! Its bonkers, pocketing the profits with scant reinvestment.

 

[niall Y]

Sympathise. In the last bout of severe wet weather, the burn burst its banks and ran 100m past a cottage, high enough to be safe, and then over our drive, and down into my workshop. When I got down to the workshop, it was in six inches of water, with stream mud/sediment over everything. Quite a few of my hand machines were submerged (drill, angle grinder, nailer), I had temporarily put my grinder on the floor shifting stuff around in a tidy up I had just completed, and this was partially submerged. My extractor had tipped over and the motor end was in the water. My wee lad's tool chest had got full of water too, and his workbench I was building for him was also a bit damaged. I found the drain outside had become blocked with detritus, but clearing this, the water coming in was way greater than the water out. So I went up to where the burn had burst its banks, and had to take several cedar rounds I have using them to build a bund to with soil to divert the water away from the garage and back to the burn. Then the lady next door come over and game me an earful for flooding her house. She seemed to think the weather and a burn breaching its banks was all down to me. Another neighbour turned up, not to complain, but to offer a hand, helping me to complete the bund, and this solved the acute problem.

I have left it there, and just as well I did because it saved the garage this time too. I rescued all my tools and put them in front of the stove in the house. Over the next few weeks, I have one by one tried them, and amazingly, they all work!! I still haven't finished the workshop cleanup. There is sediment on every surface the water touched, and while it is now dry, it doesn't come off with a hoover. You have to scrape it off with scraper and then hoover it. Now my thoughts are turning to how to ensure nothing like this ever happens again, even with the climate dysregulation likely to make these events much worse than they already are.

Another side effect of the rain is it has brought rats out and into the house. Dealt with, except there is now at least one dead rat somewhere in the house. We have new leaks in both our chimneys and no availability of roofers locally. So, I'm pretty hacked off with the incessant wet weather.

And whoever said it, yes, the water companies haven't invested in new resevoirs for decades, even though warned that failure to do this would necessitate desalination! Its bonkers, pocketing the profits with scant reinvestment.

What a pain , you have my sympathy. One of the legacies of my workshop being flooded, twice, is is that I now have most of my machines and cupboards raised up on concrete blocks. As I am quite tall, this suits me fine as they are at a much more workable height.

Most bits and pieces I have at lower levels , I keep in waterproof containers. I also make a habit of keeping the floor clear of tools or trailing extension leads when I shut up shop for the night. And, wood storage has been moved into the roof

Luckily, these were flash floods, that swept through owing to run-off from the neighbouring fields - so weren't too deep. or too damaging, though the bad smell did linger for a few months after.

I have since taken measures to protect my workshop, by installing pipework to channel the run-off from the fields behind, though I am well aware that this might not be quite enough if these wet spells, worsen.