Black Water

 

Black Water

Peak dry

I think parts of the forest have now reached peak dry with Latchmore Brook becoming more like Latchmore Lane, a gravelly track cutting through Alderhill, Amberwood and Island Thorns enclosures. To be honest Latchmore Brook is one of the forests' shorter streams, with quite a small catchment, and so annually dries up. It's almost a winterbourne really. That said, although not a particularly good example, the forest is capital D dry at the moment.

High and dry

It doesn't take long without rain for the forests' streams to begin flashing their gravelly asses; and it won't be long before there's more gravel than stream on show. Did you know that even though this past winter and spring are amongst the wettest recorded we're still on course for a drought and water shortages later in the year. Why? Decades of privatization have seen our existing/ageing infrastructure left neglected, huge sums of money extracted with no investment, and certainly no substantive reservoirs were built. It's no wonder that our services are collapsing when during that same period our population has risen by some 10 million. For a start we take the water companies back into public hands I say, that's taking them back too, not buying them; the investors have had their pound of flesh and some.

Black 'still no' Water

Well, the rains have done little to fill to the forest's streams; and I was right to question whether the flow I saw up stream in Blackensford Brook would've made any difference down stream...it clearly hasn't. I first noticed that most of the forest's streams were bone dry gravel back in July, now into September I'm searching my memory to remember a season like this, where gravel bottom were on display for so long. Although there are watering spots in the forest, they're few and far between, I can only imagine how the woodland inhabitants have navigated this drought. Here's hoping for the clouds to deliver something more substantial.

Black Water (less)

This week's bare naked bottom is that of Black Water, another tributary of the Lymington River; photo taken looking upstream from Gravelly Ford. This drought is dragging on now, it's been a couple of weeks so far that the streams have been dry. The only stream I've seen that's still flowing in the forest is Mill Lawn (which becomes Red Rise Brook, and then Ober Water), the third of the Lymington River tributaries. You have to wonder how the forests wildlife are coping, it's got to be difficult, and you can't help think about what the forest will look like once climate change's impacts begin to bed in; the forest is home to some internationally important habitats that will no doubt be adversely effected.  

Highland 'no' Water

 

This week's bare naked bottom is that of Highland Water. Highland Water is one of the main tributaries of the Lymington River. Now I've seen it this low many times before, and so am not too worried at present, it's more for what duration it remains this low that's my worry; in the past it's been for a matter of days, fleeting, whereas this could be for weeks which is a very different matter. Whether this is entirely the consequence of climate change or a combination of that and natural weather fluctuations is moot, there should be no doubt our climate crisis is accentuating weather events. Even now though some pools still remain in the meanders and deeper spots, although already the water quality in these pools is murky, and they can only deteriorate from here out; and that will no doubt be detrimental to the forest's wildlife.

Temporary respite

Although only slight in nature, the rains have allowed the forests streams to flow again, even if thinly and only temporarily, it's respite for the woodland and its inhabitants. It's freshened the air a bit too.

Black Water? What water!

Black Water? What water! No, there's little or no water! The forest continues to desiccate as the summer intensifies. Some of the forests streams are showing their bare bottoms. Black Water and Highland Water, both tributaries of the Lymington River, are dry but for a few greasy and fetid pools. Although, I'm sure the streams still flow silent and greatly reduced below the exposed gavels to the eye their invisible. Makes you wonder though, how'll the forest cope with climate change if it manifests as longer hotter/drier summers.