I was thinking dredging, or the lack of leading to higher river levels initially.

In Keswick, new £6 million flood defences built to withstand 2009 highs of 15.2 feet were overwhelmed when the River Greta surged to 17.4 feet.
The Mayor of Keswick Paul Titley said: “The flood defences were designed for a one in 100 year event and since it's six years since we had the last one, we were sort of surprised that we got one so soon.”

Locals complained that lack of dredging had made the problem worse.
“There was erection of expensive and ineffective glass panels on the wall next to the River Greta in Keswick, but absolutely no dredging of the gravel that has raised the river bed considerably over the last decade or so,” said Philip Walling.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/weat...to-misery.html

This requires a level of competence that just doesn't seem to be available though. They re-surfaced the roads outside my house 6 months ago and, somehow, where there had always been a drain there is now none. 6 inch deep puddle across the entire road every time it rains. Makes these tiddlers in the news look like nothing I tell you. My three year old can't even jump in them because they're deeper than her wellies.

Silly isn't it, I wonder how much the town planners get paid?
When you cnsider that most people have the odd bath and realise that when you pull the plug out it drains away the water it makes you think where simple common sense has gone:shrug:

Build them Higher
but the water has to go out some place down the hill.

Yep, and if you're at the bottom and there is no more down, then if it doesn't stop raining the water is eventually going to find its' way over or around any flood defense. And I don't know about elsewhere, but here it has rained heavily at some point every day for the last 26 days. I've been counting.

defences just shift the problem

like at the weekend when I thought I would be clever and gaffer tape my door seals and the water came came under the skirting boards at the side of the fecking door :umm2:

you cannot tame gravity

Sorry to hear that LT is the damage very bad at yours? :(

No

I was aware it was coming and took necessary precautions

Had i been away then i would have been fcked

That said - 6 hours straight bailing out was intense

Dear me, wonder what your new posh neighbours did :eek:

They are down south

Their properties were okay

Lucky them!