Weeks of rain but still in ‘drought’

Rain and floods, but we’re still in ‘drought’ say water bosses

Under feet of water; from the B3226 at Meeth to George Nympton - photo by Mandy Ostler (12/1/23)

Roads and properties flooded across North Devon and Exmoor on January 12th and 14th, as rivers burst their banks and drains overflowed. Winds reached around 60mph.

10 inches of rain fell in the 9 days leading up to the floods, half of that in that from the 10th to the 12th. The Met Office says that’s more than a whole month of ‘normal’ rain.

Despite days of deluges, water officials say the region remains ‘in drought’, with a hospipe ban in force in Torridge, following one of the driest and hottest periods for more than 130 years in 2022.

“Although storage levels are improving across the region, we would still urge all customers, including those in North Devon, to continue saving water where possible,” said Beth Slow from South West Water.

She said that the main reservoir at Roadford Lake is still only about half full, although Whistlandpound is close to full again and Wimbleball around three quarters full.

Fire crews from South Molton joined the specialist water team from Barnstaple and colleagues from Dulverton (above), to rescue a van driver trapped in raging flood water near Exford. Elsewhere farmers helped others caught out by the treacherous weather conditions.

Ian Withers from the Environment Agency said, “We’ve had extremes of hot, cold and wet weather and I think the seasons, probably with climate change, will assert themselves much more robustly.”

“We’re going to have to get used to living with this kind of threat from the weather.”

Van driver in dramatic rescue near Exford on Exmoor Photo by Dulverton Fire Station (12/1/23)

Roadford Lake (above) is North Devon’s main supply reservoir and was still only half full in mid January 2023, it had dropped to about 30% of capacity during the heatwave last year - photo by Keir Beeson

Whistlandpound Reservoir in North Devon (above) was reported to be close to full again in January; Wimbleball on Exmoor had risen from 19% last summer to more than 70% of its capacity now

South West Water says it invested an additional £45 million into the region’s water courses in November, to bring new reservoirs online, along with doing more to tackle leaks. However, they say climate change means we all must do more to conserve water supplies.

The new rehabilitation centre built by the UK Wild Otter Trust at Head Mill (above) found itself under a couple of feet of water.

Volunteers at the charity acted quickly to move eight recently-rescued orphan otter cubs to safety, but the rising water caused damage to buildings and equipment. They launched an appeal to carry out repairs: gofundme.com/f/flooded-orphaned-ottercub-rehabilitation-centre

Continued on pages 26 & 27

The River Mole burst its banks at Alswear near South Molton on both January 12th and 14th Photo by Gill Haynes (14/1/23)

Residents put up flood boards as the road at Bridge Reeve near Chulmleigh was under several feet of water Photo by Gemma Hobson (14/1/23)