Friday, December 07, 2007

Leaves down the drain

Yesterday evenings rain caused all sorts of trouble round our way

It was impossible to cross the road when I got off the bus - it was just like a river. The reason became clear when I walked the short way up to the brow of that particular part of the hill - soaked by the spray from all the cars which continued to break the speed limit regardless of conditions. Water was pouring down the side road which emerges there; a culvert must be blocked

Still, at least the water turned right & ran back down the main road, so my lane down the other side seemed clear. Until I got to the bottom, where the bridge was swamped under a mini lake. My initial alarm that this meant the river had come up over its banks was fortunately unfounded

The rain wasnt that heavy. Weve had much worse in the past without trouble

The storm drains are however all packed with fallen leaves. Autumn has been unusual, with the leaves staying on the trees for much longer, then suddenly falling in a rush quite recently. The council came round to clear the pavements & the road surface, but left the drains

A similar story must be repeated all over the district, with not just drains but culverts & run offs blocked too. Roads were temporarily closed all over the place, though I havent heard of any houses getting flooded