December 25th – At Chasewater, I noticed how close to overtopping the weir the reservoir is again, despite the outflow valve to the spillway being open.
That’s a remarkable indication of the state of the recent weather: Naturally, more water is flowing in to the pool than is flowing out. And that’s a considerable amount.
You know what I want for Christmas? A dry spell.
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April 14th – Spring came today properly, and brought with her warm sun and the general population out enjoying itself in what seems like the first temperate weather since last year…
Interested to note as I rode out through Chasewater on a bike ride to Cannock Chase and Shugborough that the canal feeder valve from the full reservoir is now open quite some way, and there’s a strong flow of water into the canal.
Either the Canal and River Trust have sorted out their argument with Staffordshire County Council, or the latter have decided unilaterally to reduce the water level in the reservoir themselves.
I noticed that at the time of observation, the main lake was still overtopping the weir at the Nine-Foot so the valves can only have been very recently opened.
Always an interesting, relaxing thing to watch.
February 22nd – The weather was vile. Windy, with rain and snow that moved horizontally, and the bike was acting up too. It wasn’t a great ride, to be honest, and Chasewater was deserted.
I noticed the valves were closed again after being opened last week, without too much effect on the overall water level, which is around 300mm from full.
If we get much more of this weather, the reservoir will be full in no time at all…
March 22nd – I was in the fortunate position of being able to work from home. I watched the snow fall as I worked, and decided to spin out early afternoon. The sky was threatening, the wind still harsh, and Chasewater barren and deserted. But something significant had happened: in the last week, the lake had achieved maximum level, and was now overflowing the exit weir at the back of the Nine-Foot pool, and flowing down the spillway.
This is momentous, and marks the end of the whole sorry dam-repair saga, 3 years after it commenced. The wildlife, and environment, can now recover.
That was an adventure.
March 16th – I passed through Chasewater late afternoon on another dull, wet day. I was interested to see if the level had reached the top of the weir at the back of the Nine-Foot pool, as when water crosses the new concrete breakwater and enters the spillway, the level of the main lake can rise no more.
As it happened, the water is just short of overflowing. Id say there’s bout 10-15mm in it, that’s all. The water has risen about 20-25mm from last weekend, and unless someone opens the outlet valve, I think water will be entering the overflow system by next weekend.
It’ll be interesting to see if the powers that be let that happen, or whether they start letting so water out to prevent it. Watching the water level rise here has been one of the few really positive things about this winter.
Truly historic.
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