Laxey flooding

[asitis]

I believe this is already happening in Ballasalla below the new housing estate and significant groundwork looks to be underway in the fields below the estate. I have never seen as much water flowing down the lanes and tracks and overspilling the fields as now ! It seems folly to build then have to dig up more greenfield to solve a problem thus created !

[Shake me up Judy]

That's progress fella...

[Shake me up Judy]

Ballasalla was originally marshland. It was no good for farming and too expensive to drain so once upon a time the monks built an Abbey and later on those old Manx cottages were also built on it. All the good farmland was on the low hills around the Silverburn, a floodplain, just like many other Manx villages. It will be interesting to see what happens with this new estate but it will be a worry for the residents in the lower village. I remember a big flood on the Silverburn estate about forty years ago. Let's hope we don't see that again.

[Happier diner]

1 hour ago, The Chief said:

always wonder if a groundwater and flooding study is done everytime certain building companies concrete over great swathes of the island for houses that no-one here will actually buy. 

i'm guessing the unmarked envelopes landing on desks would probably say no.

It's a fair point and certainly a factor in flooding. Worth noting though that Laxey catchment has very little built area so (whist perhaps contributory to some degree) is clearly not the big issue for laxey itself

[GD4ELI]

17 minutes ago, Happier diner said:

It's a fair point and certainly a factor in flooding. Worth noting though that Laxey catchment has very little built area so (whist perhaps contributory to some degree) is clearly not the big issue for laxey itself

But the catchment is massive and was originally pine forest right up to Snaefell.

[Happier diner]

13 minutes ago, GD4ELI said:

But the catchment is massive and was originally pine forest right up to Snaefell.

That's what I am saying. Massive catchment. Low % built on

[Out of the blue]

1 hour ago, Roxanne said:

Good call.  The answer is no.

When the huge estates were built up on the high road to Ramsey, no such survey was carried out. The whole estate was built on concrete and surrounded by concrete. People who knew said the run off would contribute to flooding everywhere below the estate.  No-one listened.

We know what happened next.

At least ‘lessons have been learnt’, with effectively a block on further large estates in the upper Laxey valley area. Bit late, I know...

[Out of the blue]

10 minutes ago, Happier diner said:

That's what I am saying. Massive catchment. Low % built on

That and with urban build above causing drainage issues, the lower glen gets the worst of both the river flooding and the overflowing gulleys above. 

[Out of the blue]

1 minute ago, Roxanne said:

You're right.  On this occasion they have.  But it took Laxey being declared a national emergency and being shown on film footage all over the world for it to happen.

And an absolutely raging crowd of Laxey residents at the public meeting at Laxey Glen Pavilion.

It was shame and embarrassment that drove this action - nothing else.

 

I know, it was a perfect storm, (parden the pun) caused by lack of maintenance, planning foresight and the pursuit of develeper profit. I now hope that they apply these lessons to other vulnerable areas.

[Non-Believer]

It's surely now been proven that the valley-side developments have contributed to the Laxey flooding by increasing and speeding up water run-off to the detriment of the lower valley? Clearly that now needs to be a consideration in both further Laxey development and elsewhere if it is indeed the case.

Could we end up with "levee" type flood measures if the natural rivers and channels can no longer cope with the natural and man-made changes to the water volumes?

[Apple]

14 minutes ago, Roxanne said:

It was shame and embarrassment that drove this recent remedial action - nothing else.

Not the first time, won't be the last. Unfortunately. 😔

[Utah 01]

8 minutes ago, Non-Believer said:

Could we end up with "levee" type flood measures

Your starter for 10: name the band.

 

'If it keeps on rainin', levee's goin' to break
If it keeps on rainin', levee's goin' to break
When the levee breaks, I'll have no place to stay.'

[Out of the blue]

1 minute ago, Non-Believer said:

It's surely now been proven that the valley-side developments have contributed to the Laxey flooding by increasing and speeding up water run-off to the detriment of the lower valley? Clearly that now needs to be a consideration in both further Laxey development and elsewhere if it is indeed the case.

Could we end up with "levee" type flood measures if the natural rivers and channels can no longer cope with the natural and man-made changes to the water volumes?

With no remaining flood plains to release the river pressure, all of the water pouring into the funnel of the mountain is channeled into what is now a tight river outlet increasing the pressure and speed and therefore the potential damage when a breach occurs. The additional run off from the upper valley due to development just adds to the pressure. They have done what they can to alleviate the issue that has been allowed to develop, but continued maintenance is now imperative. It will be up to Laxey residents to keep up the pressure on the relevant authorities and landowners. Long term it would be good to replant the woodland at source, but that is only going to help long term.

[Happier diner]

39 minutes ago, Out of the blue said:

I know, it was a perfect storm, (parden the pun) caused by lack of maintenance, planning foresight and the pursuit of develeper profit. I now hope that they apply these lessons to other vulnerable areas.

And receive the many millions of  pounds that will be needed to do this?

[asitis]

32 minutes ago, Utah 01 said:

Your starter for 10: name the band.

 

'If it keeps on rainin', levee's goin' to break
If it keeps on rainin', levee's goin' to break
When the levee breaks, I'll have no place to stay.'

Led Zeppelin