LATEST NEWS

Watercourse Maintenance Season Well Underway

Hitachi ZX210

The watercourse maintenance season is now well underway. The Board mechanically maintain 367 miles of open watercourse every year to ensure the free flow of water to the pumping stations. The season is timed to minimize the impact on the natural environment not starting until August when the birds have finished nesting and the young have fledged.

Operations include the flail mowing of the drain banks. The Board currently operates four tractor and mowers, two combination flail mowers mounted on John Deere tractors and two single flail mowers mounted on Renault tractors.  Flail mowing operations begin in August after the crops have been harvested to allow access to the land, with operators working six days a week twelve hours a day in peak season.

The flail mowers operate in conjunction with the weed baskets weedcutting the watercourse to remove vegetation from the channel.  The Board operates two Hitachi hydraulic excavators, hiring a third in peak season.  Weedcutting operations also begin in August post harvest, again operators are working six days a week twelve hours a day in peak season.

Weedcut Material

Watercourse maintenance is one of the most important operations the Board carries out. The removal of vegetation from the channel is essential to allow the watercourse to perform to its design standard thus conveying water to a pumping station operating at maximum capacity in a rainfall event.  All of the Boards watercourses are maintained to the same standard, ensuring the same standard of protection is provided to all within the district.

This maintenance operation will continue until late into the year in preparation for the wet winter months when ground water run-off is at its greatest and pumping is at its peak.