History in the making

This blip is really a record of an historic moment for my journal than anything else, although I hope you find it interesting.

The sluice gate, which John is opening, is about 120 years old and the whole mechanism is original. The gate itself is some 8 feet across and about six feet in depth and weighs several tons. It takes two men about 30 minutes to open it. We have another sluice gate that is about one quarter of the size.

The sluice gates serve several purposes. They allow us to control the amount of water which passes through our mill; enable us to empty the mill leat to clean the turbine, and most importantly, act as a flood defence for the village of Ashford in the Water where I live. This gate is known as the Ashford relief gate. It is quite surprising it is on private land and in periods of heavy rainfall, the Environment Agency make contact to ensure they are opened when necessary.

When open, the entire mill leat, which is classified as the main flow of the river Wye through our property, can be emptied in under 10 minutes during normal flow periods. It is emptied into a man made channel behind John which is as large as the river.

The blip is historic as this is the last time the original mechanism will be actively used. Later in the week, the mechanism is to be replaced with a hydraulic system so that the gate may be operated by almost anyone, singlehandedly with little or no effort.

Possibly my hydraulic system will last 120 years!! But I doubt it.

The competition entry is doing very well. Voting closes on Thursday at 9.00am.

If you would like to see my entry and hopefully vote for it, follow the link below:

Lake Matheson, New Zealand, my entry in the COx & kings photography competition.