Fears over water levels at Devizes' Crammer (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Fears over water levels at Devizes' Crammer

9:31am Monday 6th July 2009

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Devizes Town Council is to approach British Waterways and Wessex Water about keeping the Crammer pond topped up during heatwaves and droughts.

The council is currently monitoring The Crammer after the recent fine weather led to the water level dropping by eight inches.

Simon Fisher, deputy town clerk, said this was not due to the recent work undertaken repointing two of the walls of the Crammer but due to a drop in rainfall.

He said: “We are concerned at the level of the water in The Crammer. It is dropping below the silt level in some areas, which is not ideal.

“Our structural engineer checked it and said that on average rainfall across the country has fallen by six inches.

“Our structural engineer has advised us if we remove the silt that is above the water level that could severely undermine what is left with the church's wall and it could come crashing down.”

He said the council would keep monitoring the water because in hot weather there is a danger that the oxygen level in the water drops and fish in the water could die, as happened a few years ago.

He also said that the council is to approach British Waterways to see if there was any way of channeling water from the Kennet and Avon Canal to the pond.

They are also speaking to Wessex Water to see in what ways they can help.

The wall at the churchyard side of the pond collapsed last year just as St James Church parochial church council had committed itself to a £300,000 refurbishment of the church building.

They have offered financial assistance to the town council for them to have the wall repaired, but that has been turned down.

Churchwarden Noel Woolrych said: “At the moment nothing is happening to the wall. We understand the concern over it but we are not in a position to do anything about it.

“As I understand it, the Crammer is water-table fed so there is not much that can be done until there is more rainfall.”

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