Holding back?

[byron]

I suspect that some flood water is being held back here to protect areas downstream and will be a controlled release. I just popped around my neighbour who has farmed here since the 1960s and seen it all. He agrees the levels aren't as bad as 2003 and his wife says its no where near her 2003 marker. Here too it is still short of my 2003 marker but not dropping as yet which helps my suspicions of a hold back because they now say Purley is out of danger.

AND... Chris, I was only a child in the 1890s so my memories are dim.

 

[Brayman]

Looking at Chris's picture of Culham lock I'm not sure how they CAN hold anything back.
It's difficult to comprehend but maybe there's a bigger "sponge" above you and it will take longer to come through rather than up your land. Perhaps a summer flood has different characteristics to a winter flood. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

[Chris_d]

I did hear from a friend, who knows a Henley Regatta committee member, who plays golf...blah blah.... That apparently the Regatta committee had asked the EA for the water to be held back to save the Regatta + Festival etc... so when the rains came last Friday there was too much water already up there, which has caused the floods around Oxford, Abingdon etc... Its a good conspiracy theory /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Brayman]

That would make sense, I saw some photographs of Fawly Meadow flooded last weekend for the Trad Rally, ie much earlier than I would have expected from what we suffered in Abingdon.

 

[byron]

[ QUOTE ]
Looking at Chris's picture of Culham lock I'm not sure how they CAN hold anything back.
It's difficult to comprehend but maybe there's a bigger "sponge" above you and it will take longer to come through rather than up your land. Perhaps a summer flood has different criteria to a winter flood. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

[/ QUOTE ]
Ian, this is the longest stretch of the Thames between locks (7 miles) ergo we have the greatest amount of available flood plain. It seems quite logical to me to store water here and release it in a controlled fashion.

 

[Chris_d]

The plan was, to hold it back above Oxford to stop the strong streams at the regatta, as you may remember there were warnings at the time that Henley reach might be closed if the stream became too strong. Nobody (of any consequence anyway) would have noticed the flood above Oxford, but then the rain came down /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Brayman]

I thought it strange last Thursday (the day before the big rain) Clifton Hamden were running at +4 and Culham at +6, we were very close to the bridges with our new canopy. Appleford I went through diaginally, as you do.