9 Wet Spots 2020
Where are we after 11 years ?
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4 Coningsby Lane (north)
During the summer of 2019 RBWM Project Centre contractors finally carried out the project that has been proposed since 2001. In those early days the issue was just to re-instate the ditch that used to run along the west side of the access track (A-C). During the following years the ditch became filled in and overgrown so it became less problematic to install a large bore pipe instead.

A new culvert under the lane now takes water from the southern ditch to a chamber (A) on the north side. A new pipe from the ditch in front of the Mulberries also feeds into this chamber. From there a new pipe runs north to a chamber (B) and onward to a third chamber (C) from where a new pipe exits into the ditch. This ditch has been enlarged and regraded northward to a new pipe and chamber under the footpath and then all the way around the edge of the Biffa land to exit onto Fifield Road.

This new route has been carrying a huge volume of water northwards away from Coningsby Lane and no longer has to try to exit southwards onto Willow Creek land to try and find its way to the Fifield Road culvert and then northwards on the east side of Fifield Road. The large amount of water that has in the past collected along the northern boundary of the Mullberries (D) and saturated the rear land of the property is now finally also able to escape as always intended.

In extreme conditions there is still a collection of water (E) at the junction with Fifield Road. This is short-lived and is no longer caused by the large amount of water unable to escape, overflowing the ditches, and pouring down the road. Some of this seems to be coming from a backup from the Fifield Road culvert and it is possible that some is backing up from the same culvert when it is full through the gullies because of silted-up one way valves. These are different problems that must now be considered in their own right.