More Jubilee Rivers?

[Brayman]

I saw on the news last night an EA official stating that they wished they could afford more "bypasses" like the Jubilee River, well since I am going to be stuck in Abingdon for a week or two I have been looking at the local map and I see the Grims Ditch or Backwater as an ideal bypass for Abingdon, is it too much to expect that either the EA or the Vale of White Horse district council see the opportunity?
It did sound like he was more interested in the downriver towns below Windsor!
I'm quite willing to investigate futher if they will take it seriously.

 

[Andrew_Fanner]

Well, if they fund full restoration of the old route down the Wey to the Arun, and give it say, 5' minimum depth, 15' beam, 100' loa and 15' air draught then surely they could let the water out into the sea that way.
Ditto that other route from Lechlade way over to the Severn below Gloucester. Same gauge so need to bore out Sapperton a bit. ISTR another potential bypass from near Abingdon down to almost the top of the Bristol Avon near Bradford (actually at Semington). Same gauge again please.

 

[Twister_Ken]

>Well, if they fund full restoration of the old route down the Wey to the Arun, and give it say, 5' minimum depth, 15' beam, 100' loa and 15' air draught then surely they could let the water out into the sea that way.<

'cept the water would need to go uphill! I kayaked Frensham to Weybridge and back when I was I schoolboy

 

[Andrew_Fanner]

[ QUOTE ]
>Well, if they fund full restoration of the old route down the Wey to the Arun, and give it say, 5' minimum depth, 15' beam, 100' loa and 15' air draught then surely they could let the water out into the sea that way.<

'cept the water would need to go uphill! I kayaked Frensham to Weybridge and back when I was I schoolboy

[/ QUOTE ]

Similar trips myself.

Really big pumps

 

[TrueBlue]

Excellent idea Mr Fanner; enlargement would spoil the scenery so much loved by NBs, but thast aside most NBers would prefer that sort of canal, to the Thames would solve both problems at a stroke /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[akirk]

[ QUOTE ]
Ditto that other route from Lechlade way over to the Severn below Gloucester. Same gauge so need to bore out Sapperton a bit.

[/ QUOTE ]

however, that bit of water closed because they couldn't keep the water in it /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
also to re-build it will involve driving it straight through our high street and several houses in our village - lots of issues would need to be resolved!

so while I can see why people like to suggest alternatives, there are negatives both ways /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

 

[Andrew_Fanner]

And you have hit on the basic probkem with adding additonal flood relief channels, finding somewhere that vexes the fewest and advantages the most. Or vexes the most easily ignored. Obvioulsy my rather silly suggestions about using the various current and former canal connections to the Thames system are less than sensible (pause for more Blandford Fly, slurp) and a barrage system similar to the Medway isn't really plausible either, the river is too big. I'm no hydraulic engineer but what additonal difference might be made if the river were dredged out to an achieveable minimum depth of, grabbing a figure from the air, 1.75m?

 

[boatone]

[ QUOTE ]
..... but what additonal difference might be made if the river were dredged out to an achieveable minimum depth of, grabbing a figure from the air, 1.75m?

[/ QUOTE ]

Now THAT I would like /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Brayman]

I heard a guy on Radio Oxford in the week saying that he thought the EA should have drained the river down before the rain came so that there was more room to take the extra water away - he was serious.