Tag: level

December 25th – The weather cheered up for the traditional Christmas day ride, which was unexpected and enjoyable. Heading out along the dam at Chasewater, I succumbed to my OCD about the water level and took a picture of the scale. It really isn’t far now until the water reaches the maximum level of the top of the weir in the spillway. I reckon it might just get there by new year. I last checked last Thursday, 20th December, when the water was at 44cm from the top of the middle metre scale. It now stands at 8cm from top – an increase in 5 days of 36cm, or 14 inches. I have never seen anything like this. Water is now lapping around the balcony shore, and to all intents and purposes, is now at pre-dam work levels. A remarkable thing and a great Christmas present for all wildlife enthusiasts who love this special place.

December 20th – Sorry to keep banging on about Chasewater, but it’s fascinating me, I’ve never seen anything like this. It rained all day, and going stir-crazy, I donned the waterproofs and went out, first up to Chasewater, then on to Lichfield to do some shopping. The going was fast and windless, but the rain was heavy and persistent. Chasewater was deserted, and the levels continue to rise at a truly astonishing rate. Last Sunday, 16th of December, the level on the pier was at the 58cm mark on the scale on the pier. On Thursday 20th – today – it had risen to the  44cm mark. That’s a whole 14cm increase – about 5 and a half inches – In four days. Considering the huge increase in surface area as the level rises, this is remarkable. I think the lake may be full by New Year. The sandy beach has now returned at the north end of the dam, and the water is now coming up to the balcony boardwalk. It laps along the toe of the dam, and the new culvert between the Swag and main pool flows healthily. If you can, get up there when the weather breaks. I am captivated by the transition.

December 16th – I went back to Chasewater in the daylight to investigate how the water levels were behaving, and to seed what was going on with the balancing culverts between the main lake, Nine-Foot pool and the spillway. It seems the sluice that was open from the Nine Foot to the spillway has now been closed, and looking at the output side it seeks very well indeed. Water should now continue to rise until it reaches the top of the breakwater on the left. This means there’s about a metre to a metre and a half to go before the lake is full.

Last time I checked the level, it stood at 6cm from the top of the lower metre scale on the pier. That was on November 25th. Today, on December 16th – a mere 21 days later – it stood at just shy of 58cm on the upper metre scale. That’s an increase of 48cm or about 19 inches in 21 days. This is astonishing, and is largely due to the heavy rains on already saturated grounds, causing runoff to fill the reservoir. I don’t think anybody ever thought such a rate of fill was remotely possible.

I noticed while I was mooching around the Nine Foot that the red deer had been and had a look before me…

October 19th – The refilling of Chasewater has been very swift and remarkable. Saved by a very, very wet season, it occurred to me today looking at the new outfall arrangement that there’s only a shade over a metre to go until the reservoir is full and flowing into the Nine-Foot. Of course, there’s a huge increase in area to cover in that metre, so it won’t be quick. On the 30th of September the level was just off the 148.35m AOD start level of the scale, maked ‘9’. Today, it’s at 6.5. Since the scale is marked in decimetres, that’s a 250mm rise in 19 days to approximately 148.6m AOD. That’s incredible.

It’s nice to see healthy birdlife return, too. Long time since I’ve seen a heron loafing on the waterski jetty.

September 29th – It’s finally happened. We’ve had so much rain in recent months, the Chasewater has refilled to an unthought of degree. Now, the water level is registering on the scale on the pier; just 20 days ago it was well below it. The scale starts at 148.35m AOD, having risen from it’s low point of 143.7m AOD last September. A huge gain, nobody thought this was really possible. 

Mind you, the price of this restoration has been a bloody awful summer…