stop 4

Stop 4 - The Causeway

Click on the photos for full size picture

	Sluice gates Along the Causeway there are more examples of human impact upon the river. The photographs show sluice gates, which are opened to reduce the amount of water in the main channel of the river whenever there is a risk of flooding. This 'flood water' goes through the gates and flows down an overflow channel which for most of the year is dry. The gates are closed when the river level is needed to be high for boating further upstream. Click here -- to see diagrams to show how the sluice gates work during floods.

	River banks The river banks are also vertical creating an efficient channel to move the water through the city and thereby reduce flooding.

	The cost of floods With some commercial and housing property around the floodplain on this stretch of the river, damage from flooding would have high cost. Notice the storm drain on the picture on the left, it has a flap (cover) which acts as a valve letting water off the land into the river when a flood subsides.

	Sluice gates This is the point where water is taken in for the mill, which is no longer in use. With all these water grates and sluice gates along this stretch of the river, it makes it difficult for species of fish and mammals such as otters to migrate through Canterbury.

	The 1987 storm These are the sculpures made from the roots of trees blown over during the storm of 1987. During this storm large trees were blown into the Great Stour, causing a 'natural' damn. This in turn caused water to build up and flood locally, for example at the Broad Oak nature reserve. It is the job of the Environment Agency to make sure such obstructions are removed quickly to keep the river flowing.

Confluence This is the point where the flood water from the overflow channel and the main river meet up, it is called a 'confluence'. Also this the first point since Bingley Island that there are signs of 'natural' river banks, providing cover for water birds and small mammals.