Water monitoring
GROUNDWATER MONITORING UNDERPINS MANAGEMENT OF THE GREAT FEN
W
alking through the Great Fen, watching Chinese water deer grazing in the distance, whilst a raven calls nearby and a pair of
buzzards hover in the rising heat, visitors could be forgiven for thinking that they are surrounded by a natural environment untouched by human hands. However, as Henry Stanier, Wildlife Trust monitoring and research officer, explains; “Nothing could be further from the truth; human activity, mostly driven by agriculture, has focused primarily on water levels, and this has had a profound effect on the local ecology.” In 2001, five organisations came together to set out a vision for the Great Fen, with the aim of providing a more sustainable future for the area. In many respects, this work focuses on restoration by managing water levels, so a network of monitoring wells has been established. In the following article, Wendy Strain from OTT HydroMet will explain how this monitoring program is helping to achieve the ambitious goals that have been set for the Great Fen. The Great Fen is an expanse of nationally significant fen landscape between Peterborough and Huntingdon. The area contains many farms and villages as well as two National Nature Reserves; Woodwalton Fen and Holme Fen. Holme Fen and Woodwalton Fen are both
part of the Great Fen, a habitat restoration project, involving the local Wildlife Trust, Natural England, the Environment Agency, Huntingdonshire District Council and the Middle Level Commissioners. The Great Fen covers 14 square miles of land that is being restored to wild fen over a 50-100 year timescale, creating a huge nature recovery network, providing a Living Landscape for fenland species including threatened fen wildlife, such as bitterns and otters. A mosaic of different wetland habitats has been established to support a wide variety of wildlife, such as dragonflies, butterflies and amphibians. This habitat is also suitable for flowers and other plants, some of which are found almost nowhere else in the UK, such as the Fen violet and the Fen woodrush.
62 November 2022 Instrumentation Monthly
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