Pond life: just three months after ‘repair work’ to fix leaks, Carshalton Ponds was half emptied of water overnight on Friday
Carshalton Ponds has emptied of water again – and no one seems to know why.
Water levels dropped surprisingly quickly overnight Friday into Saturday, prompting Sutton Council to issue an advisory message yesterday which amounted to the authority admitting it had no idea what had caused the leakage.
“Our team is currently investigating the cause,” the Sutton Council notice said.
“Protecting the ponds and local wildlife is a key priority and we are monitoring the site closely to keep any disruption to a minimum.”
The draining issue is an embarrassment for the council, which as recently as July had emptied the ponds to carry out routine maintenance and sludge removal. Works to plug existing leaks from the upper pond the Honeywood Museum and the High Street railings were supposed to have been conducted then.
Two months ago, the council warned that its teams had identified “more issues”, with the ponds continuing to “lose water”.
Ongoing issues: there’s more than a sense that the council’s repairs were not complete
Water levels had only recently been recovering to somewhere near normal following the summer’s drought, when the flow from the natural chalk springs which feed the ponds had been much reduced. SES Water had been topping up the ponds while work was carried out to address leaks. This was not possible during the drought restrictions.
The ponds are a picturesque and historic body of water in the heart of Carshalton.
The interconnected ponds form the centrepiece of the village conservation area, surrounded by heritage buildings including the Honeywood Museum, the historic All Saints Church, the Greyhound pub and Grove Park.
Residents and conservation groups have expressed their worries about the water leaks on social media: “With the ponds facing further problems so soon after repairs, questions are again being raised about what is going wrong and what can be done to prevent this from happening again.”
There had previously been suggestions that SES Water had been extracting water upstream of the ponds, to help fulfil demand. Others have suggested that the upper pond’s concrete lining is no longer fit for purpose, and liable to cracking due to earth movements caused by the recent extreme weather, or from damage caused by the heavy traffic on Pound Street and North Street.
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