16th October 2009

There has been some really good progress over the past 7 days.

A stone outer wall is being built around the Powerhouse. This will ensure that the Powerhouse appearance is in-keeping with the Mill and other local buildings. Insulation is being inserted in the wall cavity to act as sound insulation.

The lower slab that was cast last week has now set.

Earlier today the side walls were cast. They can be seen in the picture below encased in shuttering.

A substantial temporary dam is still in place to stop the river from flooding the lower part of the screw trench.

This picture shows the wall which the EA belatedly insisted that we build.

You can see that as a result of a few fine days there is currently very little water flowing over the weir.

Contractors will be starting work next week to install the cable that will eventually connect the hydro to the grid. The connection point is about 200m from the scheme. The work will involve digging a long trench and is expected to take about 1wk (weather permitting)

Not long now until the Archimedean Screw is delivered - we are all getting very excited!!

9th October 2009

I've just come back from 2 weeks holiday so it's great to see the progress that's been made.

All the work within the river bed has now been completed to the satisfaction of the Environment Agency. The trench for the screw has been 'pecked' out of the bed rock and a substantial temporary dam has been built to stop the river filling the trench.

The reinforcing steel work has been laid at the lower end of the trench ready for the concrete to be poured. This is the last slab that we need to cast.

The shuttering for the side walls is in place. Weather permitting, the walls will be cast next week.

In the picture below you can see the low wall protruding into the river. This is the wall that the Environment Agency belatedly insisted should be built in order to create a pool at the outflow of the screw and fish pass.

A concrete mixer arrived during our visit with the concrete for the last slab.

The digger was used to tip the concrete into the trench

The guys in the trench soon had the concrete level and the slab completed

We are expecting the screw to be delivered in about 2 wks time.

15th September 2009

Following the recent few days of fine weather the river level has fallen such that work in the river bed can begin. This work needs to be completed before the fish start migrating up the river.

As part of our Environment Agency (EA) licence, we have agreed to do some work on the fish pass to improve it's effectiveness. We have removed a large amount of debris (Boulders etc.) that are restricting flow, and we will be enlarging the notches in the fish pass steps.

The picture below shows the dam that has been put in place to restrict the flow through the fish pass whilst the work is done.

The picture below shows the work being carried out at the bottom of the fish pass. The pool in the river bed is being deepened in order to make it more suitable for the fish. The wall that extends into the river (perpendicular to the river bank) will have to be removed to ensure that the outflow from the fish pass and the screw coincide.

The following pictures show the latest situation with the screw trench. The required angle and depth of screw ramp has been achieved. This ramp will be covered with reinforced concrete (next week - weather permitting!)

We have had a bit of a mini-crisis this week. The EA realised that they had overlooked a problem with river levels that would occur when the protruding wall is removed. On the basis that this problem would be detrimental to fish migration they insisted that we stop all work in the riverbed until a way forward was agreed. After many phonecalls, emails, site meetings it has been agreed that a new wall will be built (at the EA's expense) just downstream of the screw outflow. The wall will be built over this weekend (19th/20th Sept).

10th September 2009

At last - a few days of fine weather!

There has been excellent progress with building the Power House this week. The inside walls are complete. The roof won't be added until the screw and control gear are installed.

We are taking advantage of the lower river level to do some work in the river. The river bed is being excavated at the outflow to provide the best possible topography for assisting the flow of water away from the screw.

The low wall in the river (bottom centre) which sits at the bottom of the fish-pass will eventually be removed in order to ensure that the outflows from the fish-pass and the screw are merged - apparently this will make it easier for the fish to find the fish-pass!

It is a condition of our Abstraction Licence that we do some work on the fish-pass. We will be clearing away some boulders that have accumulated in the fish-pass over many years and are compromising it's effectiveness, and we will be enlarging the 'notches' in the fish-pass to improve the flow through the pass. All this work is being done in close consultation with the Environment Agency. A temporary dam has been erected at the head of the fish-pass to stop the water flow such that the work can be performed.

The picture below shows the front of the Power House. The central shaft of the screw will enter the Power House through the 'window' in the front wall.

3rd September 2009

Work has started on the construction of the Power House - the first few courses of blocks can be seen in the picture below. These blocks will form the inner walls - the outer walls will be natural stone to blend in with the nearby mill and stone walls.

In between the rain showers work has continued in 'pecking out' the rock to form the channel for the screw. It's proving to be a slow job!

The volume of water cascading over the weir is amazing. We are hoping that the flow will slow down shortly as it will be necessary to excavate some of the river bed.

The contractors have had a bit of a move around. The site office and generator have been repositioned close to the Power House

20th August 2009

The concrete slab on which the Power House will be built will span the walls that can be seen in this picture.

The Screw trench has been extended to the edge of the river. Bed rock has been reached and so further excavation is going to be a noisy process!

On target for delivery of screw by mid September and commencement of electricity generation by end October.

The team have been giving some time to think about how we can maximise the educational and visitor attraction value of the scheme once we are operational. A number of initiatives are being investigated and costed and a funding application being prepared

We hope to install a number of webcams that will enable us to show the operation of the screw on our website. The webcams will also provide us with a remote monitoring facility that will enable us to readily check that every thing is operating as it should.

We are planning to install equipment that will enable us to display the amount of electricity being generated at that point in time and the total number of kWh generated to date.

An Information Board and leaflets will be designed and produced to explain how the scheme works and to highlight other aspects of the site such as the old mill and waterwheel and the fish pass.

8th August 2009

The reinforced concrete walls of the inflow channel have now been completed and excavation of the trench that will house the Screw has started.

This reinforcing mesh laid on the ground indicates where the trench for the screw will be excavated.

Helen & Richard (from LMC) survey the work

The trench will enter the river just to the left of where Helen and Richard are standing