The weather experts said that this year’s downfall of rain has only been matched by the very heavy downfall some eight years ago: our pond, in spite of the changes made by our drainage engineers, certainly reflected these extremely wet conditions.
The good news is that the very persistent engineers from Hampshire County Council will be carrying out further work to overcome the flooding problem. This work will greatly assist the water treatment that can now go ahead after the pond is drained, cleaned and neutralised. I hope all villagers will be very patient with the ‘Pond Team’ when the pond is undergoing all these changes, because it means that quite a lot of intensive work will need to be carried out before the pond fills up again.
I am very pleased to report that the Community Action Fund project has been completed, to the satisfaction of the controller Mr. M. Long (from the Environment Division of Hampshire County Council). His thoroughness, care and advice have contributed greatly to the project’s success. The funding has now been received by the Parish Council.
Just to prove that it's not all butterflies and flowers at the Littleton pond, here are some pictures taken when the pond burst its banks. Prolonged and heavy rain in November and December 2000 raised the water table so high that springs, which hadn't been seen for generations, rose in South Drive and overtopped the pond.
Although the adjacent property was not affected, sand bags were needed to protect some homes in North Drive as the overflowing water turned the road into a stream, and cars had to give way to swimming ducks.
