Are the BBC telling porkies?

[KairdiffKid]

Not one mention, how about because it might not be true (or it's the fault of UK gold plated legislation)! Why does the quote "A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on" spring to mind?

The European Commission has actually told Ireland that EU laws don't stop river dredging.

"THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION has said any suggestion EU environmental rules are to blame for the recent severe flooding in Ireland is “completely without foundation”.

In a statement released today, the commission said: “EU law does not ban dredging. The water framework directive (WFD) and the floods directive do not include detailed rules on how member states manage their water courses. That is decided by the member states themselves."

EU to Ireland: We’re not stopping you from dredging




Oh and some people say that river dredging can make flooding worse because it speeds up water flow. Some people also say the Somerset floods might have been made worse by digging up all of the orchards (as apple trees consume a lot more water than grass).

[Potstubsdustbins]

But they would not know it was not true when the program was made ..............like you say the statement was only released today.

One further point what would you expect the EU to say having witnessed the devastation caused after all they are professional politicians.

As to dredging making matters worse by speeding up water flow this could only happen if the river narrowed down stream.

[KairdiffKid]

But they would not know it was not true when the program was made ..............like you say the statement was only released today.

One further point what would you expect the EU to say having witnessed the devastation caused after all they are professional politicians.

As to dredging making matters worse by speeding up water flow this could only happen if the river narrowed down stream.

The statement was made over a month ago (5th Jan), I don't know when CF was recorded.

So the Daily Mail, Daily Express (owned by a major UKIP donor), Daily Telegraph, members of the leave eu campaign group, Conservative and UKIP politicians have no axe to grind or bias? The people repeating what these newspapers say don't know any different, if the story suits their own prejudices they won't even question it and will take it as gospel truth.

Well the RSPB, the Angling Trust and Friends of the Earth claim that in some cases dredging speeds up water flow and makes flooding worse Dredging can make flooding worse, say activists | Environment | The Independent

Oh and if dredging is forbidden then how come the Parrett and Tone in Somerset were dredged last year (for the first time in decades, whereas the EU Water Framework Directive was only adopted in 2000)?

[Potstubsdustbins]

I don't read any of those papers actually and since when has the RSPB, Angling trust (who ever they are) and the so called friends of the earth been exspurts.

We are all entitled to our opinions and to voice them in a considerate way.

I personally believe the BBC to be biased and that is what the OP was seeking opinions on.

Oh and I can tell you now I will be voting for an EU exit as will many others.

[chrisdb]

But they would not know it was not true when the program was made ..............like you say the statement was only released today.

One further point what would you expect the EU to say having witnessed the devastation caused after all they are professional politicians.

As to dredging making matters worse by speeding up water flow this could only happen if the river narrowed down stream.

Not at all, because water doesn't just enter at one point like a pipe. Water is flowing into the stream or river along its length, and the total volume of water that falls over the area is much, much greater than the amount that can be in the water course at any one time. If you increase water flow upstream then you move water more quickly from the top to the bottom, which can create flooding that wouldn't otherwise have happened even if the river gets wider as it flows downwards, or move from minor flooding along the entire length to severe flooding along a more restricted length downstream.

This is the problem with improved drainage as the answer: you will never create enough capacity to drain off all the water during very extreme weather at once. Let's say that 30cm of rain falls evenly on Cumbria over a day or two. Cumbria has an area of 6,768 km2, so that's 2,233,440,000 m3 of water, or 491,288,117,921.1 imperial gallons. It should be obvious that no amount of digging deeper holes in the ground is going to create enough capacity to simultaneously hold all this water, and since drainage basins only go in one direction, moving all the water at every point downstream as quickly as possible is going to create a god-awful mess somewhere.

The correct answer is to carefully consider where you want the water to move fast and where you want it to go slowly. In highly populated areas with high flood risk, dredging to increase capacity and speed of flow might be a good idea. In sparsely populated uplands it isn't - we don't want all the water moving from there into towns and cities in the valleys in the course of a few hours. And in places where you want it to go slowly, you then need to improve the ability permeability of the soil and its ability to hold on to the water as long as possible.

As for why dredging wasn't done in places where it might be appropriate, I suspect insufficient UK government funding for flood protection given the increasing risks has much more to do with it than any evil cabal of EU bureaucrats.

EDIT: not that the EU doesn't do a lot of very stupid things, but our very own local politicians are often just as short-sighted and stupid. Don't go looking for distant stupidity when there's plenty of more culpable idiots closer to home.

[veggiechicken]

Ahem!! Just a gentle reminder that this is a gardening forum - if you want to discuss politics it would be better to do it elsewhere
Now, how high did you say your rhubarb is?

[DannyK]

I pruned my Brandt vine weeks ago with no problems down here in balmy Riddlesdown.

My tayberry already has flower buds.

Maybe that vinyard was in a microclimate.

I just put this all down to our notoriously unpredictable climate.

[KairdiffKid]

I don't read any of those papers actually and since when has the RSPB, Angling trust (who ever they are) and the so called friends of the earth been exspurts.

We are all entitled to our opinions and to voice them in a considerate way.

I personally believe the BBC to be biased and that is what the OP was seeking opinions on.

Oh and I can tell you now I will be voting for an EU exit as will many others.

Could that be why you are so bothered by the BBC not making (potentially unfounded) allegations against the EU? Where have the allegations come from, hydrologists, geologists, environment agency scientists (or even government ministers) or those with an anti-EU bias?

Anyway that's my last post on this matter.

[veggiechicken]

It seems gentle hints don't work
This thread is closed.