Fazer Owners Club - Unofficial

General => General => Topic started by: Dave48 on 28 April 2012, 11:08:58 am

Title: How wet is your drought?
Post by: Dave48 on 28 April 2012, 11:08:58 am
Funny thing since hosepipe bans announced we seem to have had nothing but rain! Like most foccers I daresay I pay more attention to weather forecasts than perhaps car drivers. Was looking forward to a ride tomorrow but our lovely weather girl smilingly tells me to expect strong winds & torrential rain tomorrow!Our water in Birmingham comes from the Frankley reservoir that links by pipeline to Elan Valley reservoirs 75 miles away. Last summer the Welsh reservoirs were well down(June) & after another dry winter-I guess its going to take a lot more rainfall to fill them up.
Title: Re: How wet is your drought?
Post by: rustyrider on 28 April 2012, 11:14:22 am
I don't think it's stopped raining in Peterborough for about 4 days.  Just got soaked taking a 1957 Austin Healey with a tonneau cover but no hood) to have new tyres fitted and the bike isn't moving for the foreseeable future.
Title: Re: How wet is your drought?
Post by: Phil on 28 April 2012, 11:17:54 am
I've been to 3 race meeting this year, Brands, Thruxton BSB and Assen WSB. Chucked it down at all 3 at sometime over the weekend.
Up until the last few days it has been quite dry around Dorset for a while.
Title: Re: How wet is your drought?
Post by: Dave48 on 28 April 2012, 11:30:40 am
Just had the pre Moto GP report from Yamaha Racing-practice marred by changeable weather wet to dry then wet. Would be nice to watch a dry race tomorrow. Thought the sun was always shining in Italy?
Title: Re: How wet is your drought?
Post by: mcyoungy on 28 April 2012, 12:06:11 pm
I don't think it's stopped raining in Peterborough for about 4 days.  Just got soaked taking a 1957 Austin Healey with a tonneau cover but no hood) to have new tyres fitted and the bike isn't moving for the foreseeable future.


Absolutely. St Neots to Peterborough has been raining every bloody day. Heavy too with hail.
Title: Re: How wet is your drought?
Post by: Phil on 28 April 2012, 12:48:46 pm
Just had the pre Moto GP report from Yamaha Racing-practice marred by changeable weather wet to dry then wet. Would be nice to watch a dry race tomorrow. Thought the sun was always shining in Italy?

Jerez is in Spain  ;)


I noticed in March when we had al the nice weather in was wet in southern Spain.
Title: Re: How wet is your drought?
Post by: Dave48 on 28 April 2012, 01:02:06 pm
The water has obviously affected my brain! :D Geography lesson required.
Title: Re: How wet is your drought?
Post by: Grahamm on 28 April 2012, 01:53:35 pm
The point about the drought is that rainfall has been *way* below average for the last 18 months to 2 years.

So whilst we may have had a month's worth in a few days, it would have to keep raiining like this all the way through May and halfway into June for water levels (reservoir and ground water) to start getting back to where they should be.

Unfortunately this seems to have escaped the tiny minds of idiots I see at the gym who turn the tap on full blast, wet their faces, add some shaving cream and then start shaving, all the while pouring a several gallons of water down the drain  :wall
Title: Re: How wet is your drought?
Post by: rustyrider on 28 April 2012, 02:07:18 pm
But it's mostly down to bad management.  When we do get any rain in appreciable quantities, they simply open the sluice gates and let it flow out to the sea.  A mate lives in the south of France and hardly gets any rain from April to October.  Do they have hosepipe bans?  No, the automatic sprinklers are on every day on the flower beds too.  Because the canals are used as huge water pipes to shift it from areas that do get rain as well as for barges to carry goods around.
Title: Re: How wet is your drought?
Post by: Phil on 28 April 2012, 02:59:02 pm
I dont think its down to bad management, its down to our normal climate being so wet. We dont usually need to store water or shift it around the country. That may change, or it may not.
Title: Re: How wet is your drought?
Post by: Raymy on 29 April 2012, 05:35:40 pm
What, in the name of feck, is a hosepipe ban??


You mofo's is talkin crazy talk
Title: Re: How wet is your drought?
Post by: dolau on 29 April 2012, 06:23:07 pm
(http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a219/dolau/weather.jpg)

There is an online weather station in the town near us 22.6mm today (so far) 130mm this month- thats over 5" in old money and 11" so far this year and counting

Title: Re: How wet is your drought?
Post by: dolau on 29 April 2012, 06:25:38 pm
Sorry- forgot to say- Llandrindod is about 10 miles from the Elan valley where your water comes from :lol

The sign at the top of the dam says when they were built they measured 70" rainfall a year- which is why they flooded the lush farming valleys to give water to the slums of Birmingham

Nothing much chnges in 100 years does it- apart from our rainfall has reduced
Title: Re: How wet is your drought?
Post by: robby boy on 29 April 2012, 09:40:36 pm
We have not had any rain here for the last two days, we had a good inch of snow on Friday tho.  :rollin It has rained every day here for the past 6 weeks and the "April showers" were more like monsoons.
Title: Re: How wet is your drought?
Post by: nakedadder on 29 April 2012, 09:47:58 pm
No rain here in Derbyshire for a couple of hours today, and for most of yesterday, apart from that it's been pissing down since sometime last year, or so it seems  :\
Title: Re: How wet is your drought?
Post by: Hodge on 29 April 2012, 10:19:43 pm
I do believe it has rained here every day in April.
Title: Re: How wet is your drought?
Post by: Dave48 on 30 April 2012, 09:00:11 am
Last night local TV news was talking about rising water levels of River Severn-pity they cant divert some to east side of country! Re Dolaus point couldnt agree more-My city wouldnt have been able to have developed without Dwr Cymru! Love your part of Wales-the best biking roads in British Isles IMO. Hope to be over there in June. What about that ride up the head of the Elan valley to Aberystwyth via Devils Bridge-ah fond memories! Sun Scenery & Roads! :D
Title: Re: How wet is your drought?
Post by: MarchRide on 30 April 2012, 04:15:56 pm
I think the water authorities should be fixing their own pipework and stop it leaking before they hosepipe ban us. Doubt we'd have a water shortage or drought if they did that.

Title: Re: How wet is your drought?
Post by: Captain Haddock on 30 April 2012, 05:18:11 pm
I believe one of the issues with discharging flood water is the silt carried, our local reservoir (grafham water) has a pumping station from the local river but can't run in flood conditions due to the fact that it's running thick brown.
I am mean't to be taking my boat from gt.ouse in st.neots to the norfolk broads but not a chance at the moment, a week ago I was trying to work out the best time to do the tidal section at earith as they had too little water, now I'll be lucky to get under the town bridge.
Been to scotland over the weekend on the train and there was lots of standing water through notts and yorks.
Title: Re: How wet is your drought?
Post by: Grahamm on 30 April 2012, 06:37:11 pm
I think the water authorities should be fixing their own pipework and stop it leaking before they hosepipe ban us.

Checking the figures, London alone has something like ten *thousand* miles of Victorian cast-iron pipework. Thames water have replaced 1,300 miles or so of it in the last five years.

At that rate, they'll have replaced it all by, oh, about 2050.

Title: Re: How wet is your drought?
Post by: pitternator on 01 May 2012, 08:24:47 am
nonetheless, we  have had droughts before, as far back as  in 1976..yet what extra storage / transportation systems have been developed since then...its insane to have a drought yet all this stormwater simply goes to waste....it wont be too long before the old adage will get trotted out ....
 
" well you see, the problem is...its the wrong kind of water " !    :\
Title: Re: How wet is your drought?
Post by: Grahamm on 01 May 2012, 05:47:44 pm
what extra storage / transportation systems have been developed since then...


The problem is that such systems are very expensive and usually, eventually, there's enough rain for someone to say "well we don't need to spend the money", so nothing happens.

Having said that, Yorkshire have introduced such systems because the west gets all the rain whilst the east is in the rain-shadow of the Pennines and gets much less see for details (http://www.yorkshirewater.com/your-water-services/local-improvements/improvements-in-your-area/north-yorkshire.aspx).

Title: Re: How wet is your drought?
Post by: mcyoungy on 01 May 2012, 05:52:56 pm
apparently the ground is too dried out and hard so the rain won't soak in and runs down the drains instead.


so shouldn't we be watering the ground to keep it soft instead of banning hosepipe use?
Title: Re: How wet is your drought?
Post by: bmseven on 01 May 2012, 07:49:38 pm
Bloody Drought kept me awake last night
Title: Re: How wet is your drought?
Post by: snapper on 02 May 2012, 01:00:52 pm
Pinched this from a mates Facebook says it all really
 
 "I went for a swim to take my mind off the terrible drought we're experiencing. I did 25 lengths of the back garden."               but bare in mind this is the same bloke that posted this as well    "The average bloke thinks about sex once every six tits."
Title: Re: How wet is your drought?
Post by: Motorbreath on 02 May 2012, 04:53:02 pm
I did not expect that you have droughts in GB with all that rain, curious.

It has barely rained here in southern Spain this year. There is enough water in the reservoirs but the countryside and needs much more. Then that stupid clouds came just for ruining the Grand Prix, I got all wet. No more rain expected until September.
Title: Re: How wet is your drought?
Post by: mcyoungy on 02 May 2012, 05:50:42 pm
Just like this country.............. no more rain til tomorrow.
Title: Re: How wet is your drought?
Post by: Dave48 on 02 May 2012, 06:19:51 pm
STOP PRESS! We have had a dry day in Birmingham today! Managed to get bike out and did a few miles -one of the benefits of being "retired"
However.....sky looks very dark so have to see what develops :rolleyes
Title: Re: How wet is your drought?
Post by: bmseven on 02 May 2012, 07:45:19 pm
Just like this country.............. no more rain til tomorrow.
Spain has its worst drought in 70 years!
Title: Re: How wet is your drought?
Post by: mcyoungy on 02 May 2012, 07:50:35 pm
standpipes next year:


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-17907418 (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-17907418)



Title: Re: How wet is your drought?
Post by: Motorbreath on 02 May 2012, 08:22:40 pm
Just like this country.............. no more rain til tomorrow.
Spain has its worst drought in 70 years!

Yes it is hard to be worse than almost  zero. There are many reservoirs, despite the dry weather I think there are not restrictions since the 90's if I recall right. But the countryside is a desert and there will be little crop this year. If the next winter isn't wet it will be catastrophic, the reservoirs will empty. This added to the economic situation is fearsome.

It seems than short-sighted governments are not only from Spain. Those weird standpipes are incredible.
Title: Re: How wet is your drought?
Post by: Leonidas on 02 May 2012, 09:09:23 pm
I was up the Elan valley today, as you can see here in Wales we do not have a word for drought, in fact we have aout 150 percent of the water we need. 
Title: Re: How wet is your drought?
Post by: pitternator on 03 May 2012, 08:26:15 am
well you welshies want to charge us now for piping water to the rest of the country !  :b
 
why dont we have all the unemployed lined up in a chain and bucket the water down to the south east ?? :lol
Title: Re: How wet is your drought?
Post by: mcyoungy on 03 May 2012, 08:59:35 am
an excellent idea. will you be running for parliament? I'd vote for ya!