Wind powered drainage in the fens

I have lived and worked near, in and around the fens all my life. The battle to reclaim the land from the waters has had a fascination for me ever since I have known about it. In reality to describe it as a battle is to diminish what has really been a war, at times the waters have taken back with ease, that which was won with much hard physical work.The most honest evaluation is probably that which has been taken is held; mammoth and innovative engineering maintain the status quo.I have in my lounge a reproduction of a 1645 map of Huntingdonshire, with the Isle of Ely and part of Cambridgeshire. A good portion of Huntingdonshire and the Isle of Ely are shown as under water with a few towns and villages as islands within the waters, I have another map of about a similar age titled Inumdatum which gives an indication of the extent of the waters.The drainage of the fens has been achieved over many centuries the long straight waterways (drains), dug mainly by hand. A truly spectacular sight to me is to drive along a road with the river above me on one side above the height of the van and ten twenty feet or more below me on the other side are the fields with crops growing in them.

Hundred Foot Bank, Sutton, CambsThe B1381 road to Earith runs below the New Bedford River level.© Copyright Rodney BurtonThe photograph shows in an instant the monumental achievement in reclamation of land from the water the land below the road has to be drained by emptying it into a river or drain above it rather than below it. When you realise a cubic metre of water weighs a tonne the colossal scale of the feat becomes more apparent. Every drop of water in that and many drains and rivers in the fens that has been run off from the fields, has to be physically lifted considerable heights to keep the ground dry and usable.To start with wind was used to power pumps and giant scoop wheels to lift the water then steam, diesel and now electric pumps do the work. With the appearance of wind turbines in the fens, ultimately they are now to a degree being drained again by wind power.

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Comments

Pip Howard May 16, 2010 at 8:21pm

I am always staggered by what was achieved by our predecessors; building the railways, canals etc., but to actually drain half a county by hand. Are there any plans afoot to use windpower once more as a direct mechanism for the drainage?
Fenlandphil May 17, 2010 at 11:22am

Pip
I don't think there are any plans at present to use wind power directly to pump water. The amount of power used now to drive the pumps is absolutely colossal, and you cannot always guarantee the wind when needed. A book I read on fen drainage commented on the one thing that had increased constantly was the amount of power needed to pump the water away.
When you drive along deside these drains fof miles and are not seeing them in their entirety and to realise that they were dug by hand is quite amazing.