18th January 2010 - Visitors from West Africa

Ann &  I showed some visitors from Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso around the hydro.

The visitors were guests of the Settle Rotary Club and are all involved in the water industry in their home countries.

16th January 2010 - The thaw arrives!

The thaw finally came on 16th January 2010.

The pictures below show how the river was transformed within a matter of hours.

I don't think there will be many salmon trying to negotiate the fish pass today!

The river overflowed into the viewing area!

15th January 2010

With all the snow and freezing conditions, the river level has been as low as we would normally see in the middle of a summer drought. As a consequence, we have not been able to generate any electricity for the past couple of weeks or complete the commissioning process we started before Christmas.

As I write this blog, it has started raining down in Settle and so hopefully the thaw is starting and we will soon have more water in the river. Before we are able to recommence turning the screw we will need to recalibrate the river level sensor and demonstrate it's effectiveness to the Environment Agency. This work is scheduled for next Thursday & Friday (21st & 22nd January).

Julian Smith, our local Conservative prospective parliamentary candidate, visited the site this morning - see the pictures below. Although the screw wasn't turning, we were able top give Julian a short tour and talked through the challenges and frustrations of implementing such a scheme.

Julian Smith & Ann

Julian Smith & Steve

26th December 2009

No pictures today - but at last the snow is starting to melt, the river level is rising and we are generating electricity.

Spotted a very large salmon (Over 2ft long) in the inlet channel. It has presumably found it's way up the fish ladder and then had been sucked into the inlet channel when we turned the hydro on. The salmon stayed for about 5 minutes and then swam back into the river and made it's way upstream to the spawning grounds.

Also saw a kingfisher!

It's amazing how much rubbish we are having to drag off the inlet screen. We would expect there to be branches etc but who is throwing in the hub caps, paint tins, drain pipe and Cagoule that we have retrieved?

22nd December 2009

We've been down on site today to witness the final part of the commissioning programme and to receive training on the on-going maintenance requirements.

We are in the midst of the heaviest snowfall in Settle for many years and so conditions couldn't be more challenging!

The picture shows a marker that has been attached to the fishpass wall. This will enable us to visually monitor the level of water flowing down the fishpass and to ensure that it does not fall below the threshold specified by the Environment Agency.

A snowman looking after the bottle of champagne which will be cracked open to toast the future success of Settle Hydro.

Temporary dam being removed from the inlet screen to allow water to flow through the screw.

Manual sluice gate being opened to fill the inlet channel with water

Some final adjustments being made to the drive belts that link the gearbox to the generator

Debris being removed from the inlet screen. This will need to be done on a regular basis as part of the daily maintenance routine.

With the current level of water in the river, the weir almost dries up when water is diverted through the screw.

The flow of water through the fishpass is always maintained at a level which enables the fish to negotiate the ladder.

20th December 2009

It's 'Snowtime'

Sue (Steve's partner) posing on the walkway

Get that man out of the way!!

The green wellies are actually quite fetching!

The river is quite low at the moment - but wait and see what happens when the snow melts!

An iceberg hovering around the Screw outlet!

16th December 2009

The site is now fully, wheelchair accessible.

All the guards and railings are in place

It's looking really tidy!

Woodwork has been painted to match the Screw!

You can just about see the screw through the safety guards!

Steady flow of visitors already - even in the rain!

If all goes to plan we will be up and running on

23rd December