Should Lord Smith jump or be pushed?

TT_WO said:
Since the EA took over responsibility for the Thames in 1996 we have been told that dredging is both expensive and unnecessary because the Thames is self-scourging. This was of course contrary to all the previous experts from the previous navigation authorities who carried out a continuous capitol dredging program since 1949. I do not remember being told that governments would no longer fund Thames dredging. In 2002/3 the EA opened the alternative flood alleviation scheme for the lower Thames costing £100 million+ presumably the government authorised this expenditure. In 2009 the EA proposed the LTFRS, costed it and proved that it met the Government cost benefit guidelines. The Government effectively denied the expenditure in the 2010 spending review. Leaving the biggest undefended flood plain in England undefended is just not an option. Neither the EA nor the Government are without fault.
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Are you suggesting that as soon as the EA took over, new staff came in and ignored all the previous ways of working? You do realise that the same staff from the predecessor organisations were taken on by the EA and used their previous experience to inform the new ways of working. Bottom line things have changed considerably from NRA days, the costs have sky rocketed and other drivers have come to the fore. Simply harking back to a very old historical position shows that you're not having an appreciation for the new demands that have to be considered when making decisions nowadays.

CJL
 
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Blimming heck,its raining...deal with it.
Doubt Noah, spent his spare time on the interweb, desperately firing off accusations at all and sundry in an pointless attempt to lay the blame somewhere.
......and his list of possible culprits was considerably smaller.
Some of the older members on this forum may even have first hand knowledge of this particular event. :)
 
Well... I remember, with Captain Flint, that Noah was the only boatbuilder in history to complete his vessel on time, and that was only because he knew he'd be drowned if he didn't.

Mike
 
CJL said:
Are you suggesting that as soon as the EA took over, new staff came in and ignored all the previous ways of working? You do realise that the same staff from the predecessor organisations were taken on by the EA and used their previous experience to inform the new ways of working. Bottom line things have changed considerably from NRA days, the costs have sky rocketed and other drivers have come to the fore. Simply harking back to a very old historical position shows that you're not having an appreciation for the new demands that have to be considered when making decisions nowadays.

CJL
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So what did I say that was incorrect? Did dredging stop when the EA took over? Did the EA say that dredging was no longer needed because the river was self scourging? Had not a continuous capitol dredge been operated since the floods of1947?

It may well be that old NRA staff joined the EA in 1996 but they had a new paymaster with different responsibilities and that depressed mussel on Staines bridge must be protected as well.

This is shaping up to be the biggest flood event for nearly 60 years costing millions to repair do we not have a right to ask the question, if prevention would not have been better than repair? and yes I know that it has rained a lot but the EA have been telling us for years that this would be the result of global warming!
 
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oldgit said:
Blimming heck,its raining...deal with it.
Doubt Noah, spent his spare time on the interweb, desperately firing off accusations at all and sundry in an pointless attempt to lay the blame somewhere.
......and his list of possible culprits was considerably smaller.
Some of the older members on this forum may even have first hand knowledge of this particular event. :)
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I think you spend much more time giving us the benefit of your wide ranging views than I do.

I have of course been busy recently trying desperately to protect my home and my neighbours homes from flooding.

I think you are not an expert in this particular pastime but doubtless you will now tell me how "to deal with it".
 
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