Tag: reservoir

#365daysofbiking Recovery

Saturday, October 31st 2020 – A lazy day spent at home avoiding torrential rain, high winds and attending to bike maintenance issues that had cropped up in the previous day’s long ride.

I had to nip out for shopping so went late to catch the supermarket quiet, and for a change, I decided to go to Morrisons in Burntwood.

Returning via Chasewater, and realising I’d left the SD card from the camera in my computer, I tried a night photo on phone: It didn’t turn out to badly.

I’ve missed Chasewater lately. I must get up there more often.

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#365daysofbiking Still high

May 2nd – Chasewater’s water level is now just below the weir top in the Nine-foot Pool: But only just. Not even an inch. The continued seepage from the dam and around the penstocks in the canal outlet valve will be steady, slightly and continually draining.

It’s been dry now pretty much a month or more, and at one stage last winter it felt like the world would never be dry again. The rain was such that it became a state that just was: I continually dressed for it and it didn’t trouble me much. But by god it was relentless and grim.

I’m glad that period has passed, and at the moment I’ll take any positives from life I can find.

Chasewater remains high, but is falling slowly.

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#365daysofbiking This heart is attached


May 2nd – Chasewater, deserted and peaceful with no traffic noise is magical.

Apart from us, not a soul was around to witness the beauty. Just us, and several thousand waterfowl. I love this place so very much.

A beautiful, uplifting experience.

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#365daysofbiking Enjoying the spirit of the water

March 28th – On the last dark night of spring 2020, I pottered out to take my daily exercise to Chasewater, just as the sun was setting. There was next to nobody around, and the sun was gorgeous as it dropped gently over the horizon, making the scene precious as it did so.

I’m finding work hard: I have a lot to do, and unusual things to apply myself to. It’s stressful; unpleasant work. I don’t want it, but it’s needed. Seeing Chasewater like this, still full to overflowing was a real tonic.

I just became still, and felt the spirit of this place. And tonight, with nobody around, there was no disputing it was mine. All mine.

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#365daysofbiking This world of water

February 23rd – Chasewater Country Park is currently astoundingly wet. The reservoir has overtopped now and is sending a continuous deluge over the weir and down the spillway into the Crane Brook culvert.

The network of creeks and ditches across the heaths are all swamped, and pools and huge puddles are on every trail.

Even the old mine spring that normally trickles a red, rust-tinted flow of water through the marsh at the foot of the dam is flowing pure and clear through it’s gap in the trail concrete block that acts as a crossing.

This is going to take a very long, dry spell to restore to normal.

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#365daysofbiking Spume

February 23rd – A blustery circuit of Chasewater was hard work but enjoyable. My fitness is returning but the wind – enough to whip up spume on the reservoir – was making life very difficult.

The skies were good though, and when the sun came out, there was perceptible warmth on my face.

I guess we’re all just waiting for better days now.

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#365daysofbiking Lighting the way

January 19th – A murky, misty, unpleasant day really. It was cold, and although the sun threatened to come through, it never really did here which was a disappointment.

I pottered around Brownhills and Chasewater, looking for good photos but the light was much worse than I was expecting it to be. But there were some good shots.

I was expecting it to make me feel better today, and for once, it didn’t.

Days like today make spring seem a very long way off.

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#365daysofbiking Caught in time

December 29th – The sunset was gorgeous, but I and my companion were not in a good place to record it. A quick summit meeting and we raced to Chasewater and got there as the sundown was in it’s dying, deep pink phase, which made for some lovely long exposure photos.

I guess folk must be sick of seeing Chasewater here, but when it’s as beautiful as this I’ll never tire of it.

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#365daysofbiking Fade from grey

November 30th – A misty, murky day definitely not conducive to good photography. It had been very frosty, but by the time I had change to get out with time on my hands, the frost had gone.

I had business in Burntwood and went via Chasewater and Brownhills Common – the dam looked really eerie in the fog. Spiderwebs on gorse caught water droplets and became precious.

A cold, grey but starkly beautiful day.

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#365daysofbiking Level pegging

November 24th – At some point between last week and this, Chasewater’s level increased and it overtopped the spillway weir, but now is sits a couple of inches below this, yet the canal valve remains closed off. How could it be so?

I remembered there is a small valve-controlled weir bypass sluice in the back of the 9-Foot embankment, and for the first time ever, it was open. I’m not altogether clear why.

Releasing water into the full canal would mean loading the Ford Brook/Tame waterway through Walsall and Birmingham via the overflow system, so releasing to the spillway would mean the water goes via the crane brook to meet the Tame near Tamworth, which would be better. I suppose using the sluice allows the dropping of the level of the main reservoir in a much more controlled fashion and creates buffer space if necessary.

It’s very unusual and I don’t think I’ve seen this approach in the seven years since Chasewater was refilled.

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