Tag: water level

January 6th – Obligatory Chasewater update. The water level is now up 17cm on that I recorded on December 28th. that’s about 7 inches. That’s still a huge increase, but the fill rate has now slowed due to the end of the heavy rains. The water still hasn’t quite made it through the new bridge between the main lake and Nine-Foot pool, but is millimetres off, and there’s only the top concrete crossmember to go now – about ten inches I’d guess – before the water trickles over the weir into the spillway.

There is now a change in the birdlife. The gull roost on the water tonight was huge – truly huge – and waterfowl are happily pottering back and forth between the reservoir and boating lake. In the dusk, it was busy, yet peaceful as people walked and took the air.

I note the abandoned cottage north of the dam is still being carried to dust. I must find out who owns it. I have a feeling there might be a story there.

December 23rd – An evening return through Chasewater revealed, unsurprisingly, ever increasing water levels. I’m hoping the lake will be near full by new year, and by the state of the forecast, that looks distinctly possible. At the moment, I’m most interested in the waterline around the pier. After so long high and dry, I’m wondering how being soaked again in the water is affecting the structure, with let’s face it, was knackered a long time ago. I can’t figure out why it hasn’t actually been removed…

December 15th – I went to Chasewater for the first time in a couple of weeks, but sadly, at dusk. I’d been up on the Chase (more on the main blog later) and returned over the dam. The water level must now be getting close to full. I had concerns that the balancing pipe system between the Nine Foot pool, main lake and spillway would dictate the overall final level, but the sluice between the Nine Foot and spillway seems now to be closed. I guess this indicates the final full level of Chasewater will be the top of the new breakwater overflow. The level therefore is now climbing up over the sluices, and I’m fascinated to see the lake bed reclaimed. This is like watching the recovery of a good friend from a grievous illness, and fills me with joy. The convalescens of a reservoir.

On the way back to Brownhills, I passed a row of narrowboats moored by the Anchor Pub. I have vague recollections of this at this time every year. Wonder if it’s a christmas party? Fascinating, and lovely to see.

November 25th – Chasewater’s water level was higher today than even the night before. Remarkably, the level is now to the bottom of the balancing culvert between the main lake and the Nine Foot pool. A long, careful shot in the dusk showed the scale was at 6cm from top, whereas 3 weeks ago, it was at 54cm from top. That’s a rise of 48cm or 480mm in three weeks, an utterly astounding figure. This means the reservoir isn’t far from full.

Since the water is now lapping at the bottom of the balancing culvert, I’m interested to see what happens. There is a second such culvert at the same level out from the Nine Foot to the spillway, which seems to be sluice controlled. at the moment, that one is empty so any overflow will pass straight through, and the lake will not get higher. I’m wondering if this is the final intended level, or if the second balancing culvert will be shut off and the water level between the Nine-Foot and the main pool be allowed to rise. 

I hope so, otherwise the shoreline will be a shadow of it’s former self. 

At least the sailing club now have enough water. If anyone had told me Chasewater would refill this quickly, I’d have told them they were mad. Remember, back in May we were expecting a drought…

November 24th – Finding myself in the dark of Chasewater, the only real light was in the mist over the water caused by the heavy rain. Realising the wind was from the east, I decided to see what the camera could do on a long exposure. It was really very dark, but I set shutter priority and set exposure to the maximum 8 seconds, with the camera stood on the dam wall. I’m fascinated by the results. I don’t know anything at all about photography – I usually just let the camera do it’s thing, and have worked out how to get decent results by trial and error without really understanding the process. Of late, I’ve started to get more adventurous, and the little camera seems a lot more versatile than I thought.

As a side issue, I note the water level of the lake has shot up: looking at the level on the pier woodwork, it seems to have gained about 300mm – a whole foot – in November. With the land saturated, I guess all the runoff is now pouring it. I’m seriously wondering if the lake could be near full by New Year.

November 4th – I was at Chasewater for the Vintage Event at the railway, but took in a loop of the rapidly refilling lake when I left. I noted that the water level had now reached 5.4 on the scale, whereas on October 19th, it was at 6.5. Since the scale is graduated in decimetres, that tells us the waterline has risen 11cm. That’s 110m in 16 days, making the height of the water now around 148.71m AOD. There’s now about a metre to go until Chasewater is full – however, there’s and awful lot of surface area to cover in that short height gain. At dusk, the gull roost was massive, and with little sunset, the night came on in shades of blue.

September 10th – This is really exciting and unexpected. The water level at Chasewater is now no more than a few centimetres from the bottom of the depth gauge on the pier. The scale starts at a height of 148.35m AOD (above sea level), and on the 14th September last year, the water lever stood at 143.7m AOD. Than’s an incredible gain of 4.65m in 12 months. I don’t think any of those observing the situation could ever have dreamed of such a recovery. 
Shame the downside has been an atrocious summer… 

August 3rd – Chasewater was as stunning as ever, and I thought I’d do another level update for @xswardy, who’s desperate to get back to waterskiing here. I can’t get over how much things are improving. There are no longer separate pools, and the level is only about half a metre from the bottom of the gauge on the pier. Trouble is now, with every added centimetre, the volume to fill is increasing hugely. Whilst the north of the lakebed is filling up, the shallows here are massive and will take a lot of rain to fill. Still, it’s going much better than expected.

June 9th – Chasewater is rising. In all the rain, the only benefit is that the waterline is slowly, almost imperceptibly enlarging. A landmark occurred this week; the ‘pier pool’ left stranded from the main lake, has rejoined it once more. Curious spits and islands have developed. You can see the ecology shifting day by day. But don’t be fooled. The next meter in depth will increase the surface area of the reservoir hugely, and take a massive amount of water. That, sadly, means a very, very wet summer. A terrible dilemma…

May 11th – Sunset was beautiful today. As I cycled my usual route to Chasewater along the canal – essential to check on progress of the swans, I stopped in awe to check out the sunset on the water. After so many grim days lately, it was a pleasure to explience a beautiful, light sunny evening. But it was bitterly cold. At Chasewater itself, I noted that the secondary culvert was now totally submerged, and the water levels were still rising well. I watched the sun set for a while over the western shore, but was so cold, I headed home earlier than I had intended. It’s summer, Jim, but not as we know it.