The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Keptie tests will mean sink or swim for plans
ARBROATH: Results of pond drilling tests will determine if bid to bring well back into use is viable
A contamination drilling test D-day is looming for an ancient well project in Angus.
A drilling rig at Arbroath’s Keptie Pond will begin taking soil samples to test the suitability of the land.
Keptie Friends want to bring the Nolt Loan well back into use to curb the unsightly algae problem which blights the pond every year.
In 2017, the rim of the historic Nolt Loan Well, which at one time provided a piped water supply to the town, was located and exposed.
The group hopes to have the well reopened so an affordable supply of fresh spring water can be pumped into Keptie Pond.
Roughly 1,300,000 gallons is required to raise water levels by a foot, and losses through evaporation and seepage, average out at 22,000 gallons daily.
Volunteer George Park said: “To minimise haulage associated with the excavation work, it is planned to spread the soil on the adjacent park, so filling a noticeable dip.
“This is a fairly costly exercise, but something which must be done if the group are to proceed further. VOLUNTEER GEORGE PARK
“Before soil can be spread on public property it is necessary to have the material tested for contamination, and in order to do that, a rig will be at the site to drill a hole in the middle of the well and obtain samples to a depth of approximately 50 feet.
“Research, and common sense, used to locate the almost forgotten water supply, suggests in the strongest terms that the material in the well is the same material excavated from it, when the well was first formed but regulations and protocols do not make provision for the use of common sense, and sampling is essential to allow Angus Council to give the group the ‘green light’,” he said.
“This is a fairly costly exercise, but something which must be done if the group are to proceed further.”
Mr Park said Keptie Friends have entered 2018 optimistic that this year will see the end of the problems of water shortage and poor water quality at Keptie Pond.
A £60,000 funding campaign is being launched to bring the well back into use with a starting pot of £5,000 following Tesco Bags of Help money and a donation.
The decaying vegetation, bird and fish droppings, and decomposing uneaten food cause the water to be nutrient enriched.
Warm, nutrient enriched water provides ideal conditions for blue-green algae.
Along with providing a water supply from the well, a recirculation pump would also be installed and pipework, along with a compressor and oxygenation pipeline.
gstrachan@thecourier.co.uk