We are delighted to announce that a 200,000 m3 reservoir was constructed over the winter of 2021/22.
The reservoir was built utilising materials already on site underground, with no requirement to import or export any material. The reservoir was in the specific region because of the high abundance of clay with in the soil profile. Trial pits were dug before construction commenced to determine that the quality and quantity of clay was available on site.
The clay is used to provide the necessary natural liner to the reservoir providing a waterproof barrier to withhold water. Using natural clay in the construction is by far a cheaper method of building a reservoir over a man-made liner. Building water storage reservoirs of this scale ensures our ability to store winter flood water and use it during our warm, dry summers, reinforcing our commitment to farm sustainably.
We are therefore utilising, water during the winter when it is readily available to abstract from the environment and transfer to our reservoirs. The pumps located on a nearby river offer high volume water at low pressures to abstract as per our Environment Agency licence.
We are also removing excess water from the environment that may otherwise pose a risk of flooding to the local community and reduces the amount of water that the Environment Agency would otherwise need to pump out to sea. The reservoir provides a great natural environment to local fauna and flora.
The banks of the reservoir have been drilled with a grass mix and an area of land has been dedicated to a nectar mix which will develop over the next few years for the local wildlife to benefit.
