A total of 120,000 litres of water is being pumped into Big Mead Pond in Shanklin this morning (Monday) in what is being hailed as a major victory for the local community, saving the wildlife and restoring the pond to a far healthier state.
The intervention follows weeks of mounting concern over plummeting water levels, which had led to the appearance of toxic blue-green algae and warnings for dog owners to keep their pets away. The crisis deepened further when the Deputy Mayor of Shanklin, Adrian Whittaker, resigned, citing disagreements over how the situation was being handled.
The Isle of Wight Council stepped in to arrange for just 1,000 litres of water a day to be added to the pond, but campaigners argued this would not be enough to halt the decline.
Community champions Adrian Whittaker, Councillor Chris Quirk and resident Phil Mew have been at the forefront of the campaign, working tirelessly to push for urgent action. They successfully managed to arrange a delivery of 60,000 litres of water from local businessman John Smith of JMC, with the first delivery – which comes from private reservoirs – arriving at around 06:00 this morning.
Now, Christian from the Council’s Parks and Beaches department has agreed to fund an additional 60,000 litres, taking the total delivery to 120,000 litres – or 4 tankers load.
Today’s delivery is a lifeline for the pond’s ducks, fish and other wildlife, which have been under severe threat due to a lack of rainfall that usually replenishes the water from nearby downland.
While Big Mead’s situation has now been stabilised, attention is quickly turning to another body of water in trouble – Sandown Canoe Lake. Water levels there are now critically low, prompting fears for the survival of its wildlife.
Adrian Whittaker is expected to meet with Isle of Wight Council officials this afternoon to discuss how to resolve the dire situation at Sandown, as previously reported by Island Echo.
A spokesperson for the Isle of Wight Council has said:
“We would like to thank JMC AG LTD for donating one of their tankers containing 60,000 litres of pond water in an effort to reinstate safe water levels in Big Mead pond. We can confirm that the council has paid for an additional 60,000 litres, that was added today (11 August).
“The water, which is pond water, has come from an existing store and not from a freshwater mains source, therefore in keeping with Southern Water’s current hosepipe ban on the island”.
What a good guy Adrian Whittaker is. Always available, omnipresent and concerned for our environment.
What about Sandown Lake?
“Adrian Whittaker is expected to meet with Isle of Wight Council officials this afternoon to discuss how to resolve the dire situation at Sandown, as previously reported by Island Echo.”
Any chance of coming around to water my flowers as I’m under a hosepipe ban?
in previous years of drought, when there was an issue with the water level in that pond,.. they dammed the stream, under the bridge next to St Blasius’ church,..& pumped water from there, into the pond…
Has thw stream dried up now as well (too much abstraction by Southern Water?) ?? ,..
or perhaps there’s a BMW in the way….
https://www.islandecho.co.uk/bmw-smashes-through-wall-and-into-ravine-in-shanklin/
Mind you, I seem to remember, from the previous time(s),.. there were complaints from Shanklin Chine, when the did dam it, as it stopped the water for their waterfall,.for the tourists to look at…
hell,.. let the fish & ducks die,.. as long as the grockles have a waterfall to look at…
Ducks only suffer when there’s no water and will fly off to an area where is water .
In fact in low levels, prey is very easy to catch.
Tough on the fish though.
An aerator would help the pond against algae.
The pond has had thousands spent on restoring it and now it leaks , not good and the stream the other side of the road is still flowing into Shanklin Chine
So some rich cove has got “private” reservoirs that can afford to give away 120 cubic metres of water. Nice.
Perhaps they do a what Southern Water should have done when we had torrential downpours and saved all the run off that’s called using your smarts not tugging your forelock to greedy little bar stewards of shareholders.
Wow! Why are so many people seemingly so bitter if others have things they do not? For all those that volunteered their time and efforts well done.
Of course there is another argument that the powers that be have, along with so many other things, totally mismanaged something as simple as water.
I suspect the water has come from a Farm reservoir or one setup for one of the Golf Courses.
If you have land, and it has space for a reservoir and suitable run off to catch rainfall – why wouldn’t you build your own?
Given it is now mid August, sensible farmers shouldn’t need too much of their excess water at this point of the year – although I am sure they are praying for a wet winter to replenish supplies!
Big Mead pond is supplied by a freshwater Spring which has dried up – it seems to be leaking too – but is also subject to water loss through evaporation.
Unfortunately (as with the much larger Canoe Lake in Sandown) the fish have nowhere to go when the water supply stops.
I suspect the water has come from a Farm reservoir or one setup for one of the Golf Courses.
If you have land, and it has space for a reservoir and suitable run off to catch rainfall – why wouldn’t you build your own?
Given it is now mid August, sensible farmers shouldn’t need too much of their excess water at this point of the year – although I am sure they are praying for a wet winter to replenish supplies!
Big Mead pond is supplied by a freshwater Spring which has dried up – it seems to be leaking too – but is also subject to water loss through evaporation.
Unfortunately (as with the much larger Canoe Lake in Sandown) the fish have nowhere to go when the water supply stops.
I’m sure residents of Sandown can rely on their usual level of support from IOW Council. One only has to view the town centre to see the results so far.
Great to see the community pull together, nice job. But let’s be honest, the real culprits are the water companies and their lack of investment in their infrastructure, polluting rivers and streams while creaming vast profits for their shareholders.