At least it isn't Somerset

I managed to catch up with the County Highways team and their engineer manager who carry out the jetting of drains using high-powered water pressure etc so that build-ups of silt carried into the drains by the rain do not then block the drains, so the next flood of water has nowhere to go except lie on the roads or into people's houses and gardens. 

I had raised various locations that needed attention in emails over the last week or so and it was good to sit down and catch up on progress. I was grateful for the cup of tea too, though I think they have been out in the weather more than I have. Jetting has been carried out at Duxford today, and will be at Abington tomorrow and Whittlesford (Pond House corner) last week. I also asked the district council to get a supply of sandbags out to Bustler's Rise which they undertook to do this afternoon.

One thing that is very clear to me is that in the past, various drains on private land have not been cleared - in part because people probably didn't know much about it. Do you know where your village drainage ditch is? It didnt really matter if a small development didnt clear out its drains because the County kept on top of their drains and the amounts of rain meant they were not overwhelmed. But if we are to get weather like this going forward, everyone has to do their bit. The top pic shows a small dam across a field that the farmer has put in to slow down the water coming off the land. The next pic shows pathways streaming with water, the third pic is a makeshift diversion to stop water going into a drain that is already blocked, and the final pic is the ford at Babraham the other night when I was coming back from the parish council meeting. But it isnt Somerset, and we should be grateful for that.