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THIS was the scene between 6 and 9 February outside one of the world’s
busiest institutes for water research. Fortunately, the flood waters from
the Thames, rising in the recent storms that have swept the south of Britain,
never actually reached the buildings of the Water Research Centre at Medmenham
in Buckinghamshire. The water covered a drive that leads for 600 metres
to the centre, forcing staff to leave their cars at the gate and travel
to the buildings in Land Rovers. The WRC provides services for the water
industry, for monitoring authorities and for governments around the world.
It does not, however, conduct any research on flood control.