Tag: water

June 2nd – Heading out on a dull but warm afternoon, the eventual aim was Draycott in the Clay steam fair at Klondyke Mill, but fate had other ideas. On the way, I called in at Chasewater to see if it was filling the canal. It was, the valves were open.

There has been a leak in the canal near Little Bloxwich that has lost a huge amount of water into a culvert beneath the canal, and the Canal and River Trust had said initially the drop in level was due to Chasewater’s supply being cut off by Staffordshire County Council, which was clearly arrant nonsense.

The Trust finally released an emergency stoppage notice and began damming off the leak that very afternoon.

You can read more here.

Chasewater is still very full, and when called upon will need to fill the five inches or more lost from the canal. An interesting situation to watch.

May 31st – My attention had been drawn to comments online that the canal water level had dropped significantly in the last couple of days, so I investigated – measuring from the weir bar to the current level was 123mm. Nearly five inches of water lost since Sunday when the canal was in heavy overflow.

Considering the length of this canal, this is a huge amount of water gone.

Subsequent enquiries with the Canal and River Trust suggest that they were unaware the valves had been turned off at Chasewater by Staffordshire County Council (see here) but I’m unconvinced the water would drop so fast considering the conditions.

I’m wondering if a downstream lock sluice was accidentally left open, perhaps.

It is said the situation is being rectified by pumping water in from Bradley, so it’ll be one to keep an eye on I think. A mystery.

April 28th – A grey, cold afternoon at Chasewater with little to commend it: On a quick spin out shivering and cold, they light was hauntingly grey over the lake. I notice the water level is falling gradually now with it now being about 75mm below the outfall spillway weir.

The gorse is beautiful, the hedgerows verges and thickets were alive with flowers, birds and wildlife, but there was little colour because of the awful weather.

Come on spring, we won’t mind if you wake the sun up!

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.

March 31st – Heavy rains continued into Saturday with a break in the afternoon, And I took a spin around Clayhanger Common to check out the flooding situation.

As usual in heavy rain, the canal overflow had swamped, and the lower meadow was flooding over the new spot path. I often wonder who comes out and resets the breakers on the street lights after the water level drops.

This area is designed as a flood buffer to hold water away from CLayhanger Village and resolve it’s historical flooding problem – and it does a great job.

March 8th – Passing again from Shenstone in daylight, I stopped to take in The Little Holms, the western end of Shenstone’s Lammas Land, a public space that runs along the whole upper side of the village from rear the pumping station to the Birmingham Road, along the Footherley Brook.

This lovely spot gives a great view of the Victorian pump house, still in use with twin 200 horsepower electric pumps. With a storage reservoir underneath, this facility feeds Barr Beacon reservoir, and keeps Walsall and North Birmingham fed with clean water from it’s boreholes.

Brought into use in 1892, it pumps water from a 131 feet deep, 12 foot diameter well, with a 597 foot heading. The steam pump was retired in 1957, and now a 60 horsepower submersible well pump tops up a 10,000 gallon tank under the pumphouse.

After treatment there, water is pumped by 200 horsepower pumps up to Barr Beacon reservoir for distribution. These pumps can supply 1,500,000 gallons per day, and are backed up by emergency generators.

The cottages were originally for the workers, but I think they’re private now. I love the attic conversion in the end one – that gable wind is gorgeous.

February 25th – I raced back to Chasewater to catch the sunset as I had planned to do they day before, and although inevitably the sunset was not as dramatic, it was very beautiful and calm, but my hands were frozen. It really was very cold indeed.

I noted while there that Chasewater is now about 150mm from full, as it usually is at this time of year. It will be interesting to see what happens this year – if the reservoir is allowed to continually overtop or if the dispute with the Canal and River Trust is resolved and the water is released into the canal.

February 18th – In what turned out to be an abortive, doomed ride due to technical and other issues, I was further dismayed to come upon this asbestos water tank, dumped in a lay-by on the bend of Bullmoor Lane near Chesterfield. 

As structural asbestos this is a health hazard and will require specialist removal and handling, unlike the monkeys who dumped it here.

If you’ve recently had a water tank like this removed, the people who did it may be flytippers with no respect for others. I hope their plumbing is of a higher standard than their waste practices.

I did report this online immediately.

January 13th – The cold had really got me. I was damned ill with no energy at all. I slipped out after dark for a short loop of the canal, then came home, shivering and exhausted.

I was pleased with the shots, though, although there weren’t many on this torpid, tortured evening. Maybe tomorrow will be better.

December 4th – Returning home, I had to visit a mate in Shire Oak, and on the way noted that the problems with pooling water at Anchor Bridge were bad again, after a fair few yeas of being trouble free.

I also noted that the Anchor pub was looking very welcoming these days, with a well-lit exterior that really makes it look warm, cosy and inviting.

No time today, sadly; maybe another day.