Dark Knight and 'heavy' water Engineering

Water meadows heavy duty traffic

Contractors special helpers!

Windrush bed raised by over a foot with new gravel

Windrush flow changes already evident

The morning at Sherborne was spent at the bat cave with Morris as lead engineer and of course Mike. No bats this time of the year in this winter roost but plenty of work required to plan this years renovations. After a thorough survey, once we had cleared a path through the dense vegetation to reach the cave entrance, there was a significant shopping list of poles, supports , clamps, timber to do what is needed. Mike will need to get a shift on the procurement as the work is to begin next Wednesday!. 

The afternoon was to be a change, since Mike was otherwise engaged, as I was to pop down to the water meadows to investigate how the major Water Management Project was progressing and take some pics for a historical record. Historically the Windrush has undergone much dredging operations and been impacted by livestock. Over the years this has impacted the 'flood' plain and the wildlife habitats. The objective of this Project was to restore the Windrush water levels and flows (by ironically adding gravel}, provide controlled water catchment for future livestock and generally improve wildlife habitats as a result. I was only too happy to visit this area of the water meadows since normally its off limits and it was certainly good to see this Windrush environment albeit with some temporary 'main' trails used by the heavy machinery. Obviously a lot of fencing had been taken down to allow access to the river but this will be replaced on completion of the work. 

Some hefty water pipes for water meadows

Fortunately the dry weather this summer has permitted the heavily loaded trucks transporting the gravel to get close to the Windrush and allowed the diggers/dumpers to make good progress in depositing the gravel into the Windrush. The contractors are pleased with the progress and holding their breath for a continued dry spell. So already its easy to see the impact on the Windrush water flow and I can't wait to see the completion of this part of the Project and then the building of the water catchment 'arrangements' using the heavy duty water pipes and pumps.