The Ock Valley Walk is still walkable – with Wellington Boots. This picture shows where water from the upper Ock flows across the path to the lower stream. A little further downstream there is a weir where water is supposed to cross.
Unlike the River Thames with its vast flood plain, opposite Abingdon, the River Ock runs through quite a narrow channel. But at the point where the upper and lower streams meet things are probably safer now,
The picturesque bridge by St Helen’s Mill was pulled down because it was thought to impede the flow. St Helen’s Mill has also been tanked, and a simple wooden gate is put across to keep the Ock on track, and not sweeping round people’s homes..
After the Iron Bridge the Ock helps swell the Thames. There are 7 boats moored at St Helen’s Wharf just upstream from the Iron Bridge. The mooring is more secure than the soft ground upstream from Abingdon Bridge.
All this water, and they are threatening Standpipes.!!
Thames Water are owned by German shareholders and now the Chinese have a share. It does make one ask if they are selling our water off elsewhere. Profits come before dealing with water leaks. After all they have to make sure the shareholders get a good return. One of the drawbacks of selling off the family silver. The emphasis changes to profit and not the business in hand.
We know people who live in Ock Street and were flooded in 2007. They will be relieved to know that the improvements appear to be working.
if the water is in the river it’s no good for ending the drought! – it needs to be deep under the ground.
and for that to happen, you need to take all the rain of the last couple of weeks and have it fall over 2 months instead, lightly, softly soaking into the soil.
I can assure you that the water table is fine in Abingdon because we are pumping water from the rising water table out of our cellar……. and that last happened in 2007
The water in the Ock meadow behind our house in Orpwood Way is receding…we were flooded in 2007 and this is the closest it has come since then.
..but the West-end allotments are flooded- a real disappointment.
Around here and the Vale water falls so often on Clay so runs off quickly; also thee’s alot of compression and urbanisation so the very deepest aquifers can be little affected.
Nevertheless that we should have floods of allotments at this season is really upsetting; the A34 embankment may be another factor, here.
I woud still like to know whogot all those nice antique bricks that. Were so carefully salvaged from the footbridge??? Must have been worth quite a few
hundred quid!!
Really Carl? Im sure saving the bricks was more to do with not blocking up the river than making a few quid from secondhand bricks! Shouldnt think old red bricks are worth that much are they? They werent that old anyhow! Nobody asks a tree feller what happens to all the logs from a job or an electrician what happens to all that old copper cable. Or is that all a conspiracy aswell?
Native,
None so blind as those who will not see
Carl
Carl my point was, so what if they made a few quid? Plenty of other trades do without question.