Tag: overflow

February 12th – Still tacking into the wind into Brownhills, I hopped onto the canal at Clayhanger Bridge. The towpaths, of course, were sodden and hard going. The overflow here was working at full capacity and to a degree I’ve never seen before. This certainly made me think; this water is heading to the Ford Brook, which becomes the River Tame, and meanders through North East Birmingham, then Tamworth to Alrewas, where it meets the River Trent. The water from Chasewater will find its way to the Tame, too, via the Crane and Bourne Brooks. This is serios flow, from just one overflow. 

The Trent must be very full at the moment…

February 7th – It had been a hard, long day. For the third time this week, I hit the canal back into Brownhills, but not before I’d stopped to reflect at Jockey Meadows in Walsall Wood. The heath there is sodden, and the meadow is still in winter clothing, but the daffodils here too are sprouting. No sign of snowdrops, though, which was sad.

The canal overflow is working to high capacity at Clayhanger Common, and I was interested to note the trash screen was clear of debris – either someone is cleaning it out or the canal isn’t that polluted these days. Think it’s probably the latter.

I paused on Catshill Junction bridge to look over to the wasteland where Bayley House once stood. One of the two high rise blocks demolished here just shy of a decade ago, permission has finally been granted for a new canalside development here.

Things change – the seasons, the weather, the skyline. But sometimes, the constancy of just loving where you are is enough after a tough day. Standing there in the weak February sun this afternoon, I really felt that attachment deeply. 

I absorbed the space, the sun, the smell of the damp earth, the canal.

I got back on my bike, and rode home.

October 14th – I hopped on to the canal on my way back, and as the sky cleared, dusk fell. It was beautiful, in a quite understated way. I love the canal overflow at Clayhanger Bridge. I adore watching the flow of the water; powerful, noisy, yet soothing. Flowing strongly after a weekend of rain, I listened to it for ages. When you’ve been feeling under it for a while, simple things like listening to the rush whilst watching a decent sunset form can really pick you up.

I cycled homewards lifted.

May 4th – A gorgeous, but windy, summer evening. Still taking it gently due to the sore ribs, I took a gentle run out through Brownhills to Chasewater, then back along the canal. The blackcurrant blossom at Home Farm was gorgeous, and my favourite tree is coming into leaf, at last, a sure sign of impending summer.

The Water level at Chasewater has been lowered to around 200mm – 8 inches off maximum, and the valve closed. I find this interesting; the overflow over the poor weather period was clearly to stress-test the dam, and presumably, it’s passed. It will be intrigued to see if they allow it to overflow on a regular basis – to irrigate to spillway wetland – or if this was a rare event.

A fine evening’s ride.

April 14th – I was in the house all morning, listening to the rain and wind, dreading the afternoon ride I was planning on taking. Slipping out mid afternoon, what I actually found was way different to that which I expected. Yes, it was raining with a gusty wind. But the warmth was welcome and lovely. The landscape was grey and the sky dull, but as I zipped up to the new pool at Clayhanger, there were signs all around of spring kicking off; birds buzzed about with nest building materials in their beaks, swans sat on nests at Clayhanger and Catshill. I saw the first Heron on the new pool I’d ever seen there. Green shoots of lupin glistened along the canal banks. At Chasewater, the reservoir was still in overflow and the marsh formed by the overspill seems to be growing marsh grasses. Tits, wagtails and pipits flitted about. There were distinct splashes of emerald green on the commons and heaths.

I think that’s it, finally. The end of the 7 month winter is at hand.

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.            

January 2nd – I rounded the bend towards Brownhills, and the overflow near the Pier Street Bridge caught my eye. Only a few days ago, this was a raging torrent, flooding the land behind, struggling to cope with the downpours that had constantly filled the canal. Tonight, it was quiet, a relative trickle. The land behind was still saturated, but draining, slowly. There was very little sound. I thought about it for a while. The transitory nature of the water, about beginnings, endings and direction.

You see, today, It was the end of 365daysofbiking. I started this odd mission on April 1st, 2011, after being cajoled into it by fellow cyclist Renee Van Baar, originally only for 30 days. I enjoyed those 30, and resolved to do a whole year, but last new year I was very ill indeed. I missed two days laid up, and returned to the bike on the 2nd of January 2012. So, the mission is now complete, but I have cycled all but two days out of 21 months.

I’m quite proud of that, but more later. Is this where the story ends?

December 24th – I reckon, if this weather continues, there won’t be any smokers left in the UK by the end of January. Everything in the country will just be too soggy to light….

I don’t think I’ve ever known such a wet Christmas break. Disappointing, as I wanted to get up to Derbyshire, or maybe just around Staffordshire, but largely I’m confined to utility rides around home at the moment. It was on such a ride today that I noted the canal  overflow at Brownhills had swamped it’s culvert again. That’s the second time in two months, and as a consequence, the low area of Clayhanger Common is starting to flood. This area, if the wet weather continues, will be several feet deep in a day or so, but it’s doing exactly what it was designed to do, and protecting Clayhanger Village and the Ford Brook channel from flooding.

In years gone by, this would have flooded the village, but since the reclamation of the common and the creation of this flood bund, the village is protected giving residents there peace of mind and a good Christmas.

Next time you see someone from the Environment Agency, tip your hat.