UK Floods Could Last Months, Scientist Warns

UK Floods Could Last Months, Scientist Warns
Some 1.6 million properties across Britain are now at risk of groundwater flooding and there is no end in sight, an expert says.

Scientists have told Sky News that groundwater levels are now so high that parts of Britain face a serious risk of flooding for weeks or even months to come.

Andy McKenzie, a groundwater scientist at the British Geological Survey, told Sky News that even if the rain stopped today, so much water is soaking through the soil that levels are likely to keep rising for another two months.

The risk of flooding could remain high until May, he said.

Figures exclusively revealed to Sky News show that boreholes used to measure the height of the water table are overflowing in many areas, with the highest levels ever recorded.

According to the data from the British Geological Survey nine of the 14 boreholes in southern England are now showing "exceptionally high levels".

At Chilgrove House in Sussex the groundwater level at the end of January beat records going back 179 years.

And at a borehole at The Well House Inn in Surrey the extraordinary rainfall has pushed up the water table by 20 metres in the last two weeks.

The British Geological Survey estimates 1.6 million properties in England and Wales are at risk of groundwater flooding.

They tend to be in low-lying areas where water is pushed up through rocks. They can be in normally dry areas, far from rivers and streams.

The Environment Agency (EA) has already issued groundwater flood alerts for parts of south London, Kent, Surrey, Berkshire, Wiltshire, Hampshire and Dorset.
Floods across Britain. The Somerset Levels could remain like this until the Spring

The EA warns that cellars are likely to flood, and if groundwater seeps into sewers, there could be pollution. Roads could also be closed by rising water levels.

In the winter of 2000-01 groundwater flooding of the Patcham area of Brighton cost £800,000 and cut off the London to Brighton railway line.

Water flowing underground is also likely to mean the Somerset Levels will remain flooded well into the Spring.

Sky News descended through a pothole in the Mendip Hills to access a network of caves that stretches for several miles.

Huge volumes of water are cascading through the tunnels, heading for the low-lying areas.

Andy Sparrow of Caveclimb has been exploring the system for several decades. He said he has never seen it so wet for so long.

With more storms forecast this week, and no sign the jet stream is moving north to its normal position, large areas of Britain are at risk of further flooding.

http://news.sky.com/story/1209623/uk-floods-could-last-months-scientist-warns

If we have an emergency fund, now is the time to use it!

excellent it should be over in a couple of weeks, they are never right, thank goodness they got the 100 days of snow wrong.

It's not a weather forecast, it's about the water that is already here and the water table, and what groundwater scientists are saying, not weather forecasters.

Sassy wrote:It's not a weather forecast, it's about the water that is already here and the water table, and what groundwater scientists are saying, not weather forecasters.

OOppps my mistake if it's scientists it should be gone in days then.. :D 

 



  



  

this is fear driven media at its best.

the report is saying the high levels of ground water create the conditions for flooding for several months.. not that it will be flooding for several months.

really the warning is that even once things subside people/councils have to mind full that if it rains in the next few months it will flood much faster as the water table is already at maximum.
Which means that it may not be worth fixing foundations until then, and to be prepared with emergency services etc just in case.

Not what it is saying at all Veya.

Andy McKenzie, a groundwater scientist at the British Geological Survey, told Sky News that even if the rain stopped today, so much water is soaking through the soil that levels are likely to keep rising for another two months.


In other words, the ground is so soaked that as the flooded areas drain, the ground water levels in other areas are going to be pushed up further.

Personally I don't think anyone has any idea how long this will continue or how much worse the flooding will become.

Call me a cynic but it seems that this is being taken more seriously as it's affecting lets say more affluent areas   

Time to take stock and divert all available funds back to the UK.

The price of potatoes will rocket for sure

Maine coon lover wrote:The price of potatoes will rocket for sure

Grow your own, much nicer  :D 

feelthelove wrote:

Maine coon lover wrote:The price of potatoes will rocket for sure

Grow your own, much nicer  :D 

how long do they take to grow , i'm not a gardener I hate worms and other insects   

On the news, they just opened the top of a bore hole, miles and miles from the floods, they should have to pump up water from it, as they unscrewed the top water flew out, which is exactly the point that was being made here.

causing disease with it , this needs sorting and fast

The water table doesn't cause disease. However, if fracking had been going on and the water table had been disturbed, who knows what might have happened.

Sassy wrote:Not what it is saying at all Veya.

Andy McKenzie, a groundwater scientist at the British Geological Survey, told Sky News that even if the rain stopped today, so much water is soaking through the soil that levels are likely to keep rising for another two months.


In other words, the ground is so soaked that as the flooded areas drain, the ground water levels in other areas are going to be pushed up further.

The 'ground water' will keep rising, not the flood waters.
they are talking about water levels in Boreholes. not on the surface.

Watch the Videos at the source you posted. the porous rock underneath England is full of water

That's what I meant to say Veya lol, didn't put it very well, the flood waters can't go down because the ground water levels are so high they are spilling out of the bore holes, there is nowhere for the floods to go, so we are stuck with them until someone works out what to do.  The ground water simply can't get much higher, it's coming out of the bore hole with terrific force if they unscrew them, they should have to drop instruments to see the level.

There are areas that are below the groundwater level now, miles from rives and waterways, and water is going to going up through the floors into cellars etc.