Pumping Out, Breach 24. 21st February,

The cofferdams at the breach site are now completed and Mark was back down there today taking photos.

Today C&RT have reportedly started to pump water out from between the dams. Hence the blue water either side and mud banks showing between them.

Water is being pumped round the dams. On some photos the pontoon is on the off side and being deluged.

The piling seems to be letting a small amount of water through. The amount of silt is quite impressive on the outside of the bend. I wonder just how deep the channel is?

Here you can see some of the bags of aggregate that were air lifted in when the breach originally happened. I wonder how much of the stuff they lifted in will have to be removed to be able to see the full extent of the breach.

This looks like the fish rescue team arriving.

Two chaps are carrying a boat along the off side. You can also see a ladder towards the top of the photo. The gravel on the right is almost certainly the start of a ramp to get access onto the site when it is fully drained.

You can see them lowering the boat down into the cofferdam here. Once the fish have been rescued the rest of the water will be pumped out.

The level in the drain below the canal looks lower than it was a few days ago. With the level in the cofferdam now low the rush of water coming through the mound of rocks looks to have stopped. Have to say I can’t see where any pumps are to drain the site, maybe they just let it drain into the drain below?

According to Mark the rest of the water will be pumped out on Tuesday, maybe then we’ll be able to see where all the water was escaping.

I also got a selection of photos of Oleanna today from Al via Lisa.

Now either that pontoon has been given a good dose of Babybio or the level has dropped even further.

The pontoon is now at roof height, the lowest she’s been. Thankfully Al was down at the marina again today and loosened off her ropes some more.

At this level I think the docks will not be operational again, although Mark has a photo showing a couple of ships in. Marine traffic shows no boats this evening. There obviously isn’t enough water being pumped in to keep the level up.

Thank you Al and Mark for the photos again. We’ve considered hiring a car to head down to visit, but there is nothing more we could do. Oleanna is still afloat, or if she is sat on the bottom, the bottom is level. So we just have to wait and watch.

2 thoughts on “Pumping Out, Breach 24. 21st February,

  1. Clare Henderson

    It is fascinating watching the engineering for this massive operation. Thank you for sharing it. Ir must be frustrating knowing that you are absolutely stuck with not being able to move, especially as the boating season rolls around. Tilly will be upset!
    Could you email a link to exactly where Oleanna is moored. We are trying to position her relative to our limited knowledge of the canals.
    Love to you both
    Clare and Graeme NZ

    1. pipandmick Post author

      I’ll email you our location.
      This afternoon we’ve heard what the road map to get us out of lockdown will be. If all goes well things may return to some normality here in June. With that in mind we’ve started to plan our cruising, here’s hoping we can get out of the marina!

Comments are closed.