Phew! Finishing touches to Waterloo Pond

Waterloo Pond is nearly complete,  a large and significant new pond south of Alconbury Weston. It is an offline pond taking water from a large ditch that collects surface water from the hills around Buckworth. Altogether it has a catchment of 3.4km²  or about 4% of the whole Alconbury Brook catchment. Water from the ditch is the first to reach the Alconbury Villages during a flood. The pond is designed to hold water until flood levels have fallen. Waterloo Pond has also been created as a new high quality freshwater habitat containing water year-round. Parts of the bank will be seeded with marginal plants and the top of the banks with a damp meadow mixture. Where the excavation spoil has been spread, the field will be restored with a deep-rooted pasture mix enhanced with deep rooted wildflowers to improve drainage. The new pond will be surrounded by livestock fencing to prevent damage by sheep.

We are particularly pleased that this project is nearly complete. It was a bit more complex to organise given the size and potential archaeology. We are very grateful to Milton Estates, the Baxter’s, and to Rob for archaeological advice, Bob for plans and Mike and LWEG for ensuring the project funding.

Waterloo Pond is part of a larger project with at least 3 more ponds due to be constructed this autumn, all storing water from the Buckworth Hills improving water quality, and providing wildlife havens. These will be funded by the Anglian Water thriving Communities Fund