Water levels?

[Rob]

...so the runoff swallets (Duce Hole, Hungerhill, Waterfall Swallet, etc) will make a big proportion of the flow into the caves....

Just correct this, i think Duce Hole only flows to Bagshaw, although may once have gone to Stoney.

 

[bograt]

Back in the day, JSB did postulate the existence of a "saddle" type development at the top of Middleton Dale (somewhere under Housley), if this exists, and is phreatic, a syphon effect could cause extended flow through the systems under the dale, dependant on the water table levels under Wardlow Mires. I don't know if anyone has co-related the flow at the Mires resurgences with the flow in the Dale?.
Help me out here John. :-\

 

[T pot 2]

The Water Grove pump that supplies water to (Glebe Mines) now British Fluorspar is still inactive, could this have some bearing on the flooding in the dale?

T pot

 

[AR]

As we discussed last night, it's curious that the flow out of Watergrove Sough didn't seem to massively increase while Carlswark was merrily resurging all over the road, yet with the pumps off at Watergrove, there ought to be a massive head backing up behind the blockage in the sough. I'm glad it hasn't blown, as the resulting flood would probably take out all of the slabbed section in the sough and really block it, or take the road out, but it raises the question of where the water is getting away from Watergrove? Presumably it's going into Carlswark and the mines that feed into Moorwood Sough (anyone been down to the tail to look at its flow?) but how's it getting there, and is there a component feeding into the Wardlow/Cressbrook resurgences?

Paging Dr. Beck.....

 

[MarkC]

As we discussed last night, it's curious that the flow out of Watergrove Sough didn't seem to massively increase while Carlswark was merrily resurging all over the road, yet with the pumps off at Watergrove, there ought to be a massive head backing up behind the blockage in the sough

The water from watergrove sough is groundwater fed, so you wouldn't expect a big increase suddenly (unlike what I experienced n the Merlin streamway one stormy summers night when jumber brook started to flow  ). I guess as the rainy season rumbles on it may continue rising if watergrove sough can't cope. That said I was in the cartgate at the bottom of hillocks once, and could actually see groundwater flowing out of a sumped passage and rising around me. Needless to say I didn't hang around to find out what happened next!

 

[John B]

Only just read the recent posts here.

Re. Watergrove Mine, the Wardlow basin is more or less closed, and I think originally the only outlet was at the head of Cressbrook Dale at Wardlow Mires. It would have flowed permanently. Then Watergrove Sough was driven eastwards, and punctured the lava so that the basin drains to Stoney except in flood when it comes out at the Mires. Much of the Merlin stream leaks, I think, down-dip from the sough, but in flood it may also come from Streaks West Choke or Lu Blue Sump or both.

Re. Big Dig. Water used to go over the road before Big Dig. On the 1959 25" map it is shown as a permanent spring. Nobody cared when the houses in the Nook over Moorwood Sough tail used to flood. Big Dig did alleviate that a bit, together with rebuilding the tail in 1990. Before Big Dig I think the water backed up and flowed round through Cockle Passage into Stalactite Passage instead of via the base of the run-in shaft that was timbered through. The shaft had obviously been filled, the fill washed away, and because it is at road level in Eyam Dale, was filled again. The overflow point was lowered a bit, but not much.

Tell you more when we get past the Boil-up from the Delph dig........

 

[martinm]

That said I was in the cartgate at the bottom of hillocks once, and could actually see groundwater flowing out of a sumped passage and rising around me. Needless to say I didn't hang around to find out what happened next!

Related to this, Hillocks seems a friendly place, but on one trip down there in wet weather in the 80's, I found it to be sumped about a third of the way up the second pitch!  (I'll never forget that!) There was also water hissing out of fractures in the rock walls just above the sump level. Goodness knows what it was like in the cartgate, etc. Reckon the water must've been at least 15ft deep. (Guessing the Knotlow connection would also have been sumped.) Would've loved to abseil down the main engine shaft and see what it was like....

Critchlow was also resurging strongly on this occasion, twas a wet day!

 

[bograt]

I assume that would be before the "Days Of Ben ??" :bow: :bow:

 

[martinb]

Last Wednesday - 9th Jan - there was quite a bit of static water in Eyam Passage between the route down to resurgence and O's & X's. When we got down to the streamway, there was only a couple of inches. Part of the group went down Stalactite passage to the sump and it was sumped.