In spate!

Our river is seriously in spate.  Indeed, it’s the first time since last year’s works that it’s gone over the salmon chute.  I wasn’t even sure that could still happen since the works sheltered the chute from the main flow!  Apart from the high level, the water is a murky brown, as soil from our land is flushed out to sea.

This is puzzling.  The weather has indeed been wet, but certainly not that wet.  Nor has it been wet over a sustained period that normally precedes the river rising significantly.  Indeed, the grass of the park alongside it is wet, but by no means waterlogged, as happens long before the river rises this high.  At least, normally.

I suspect last year’s works haven’t helped: the canal (which draws water from the river) has looked more fragile since the works.  But I wonder if other building works in the area are affecting it, either by depriving the water of other places to go, or channeling more water in?  If so, something’s happened rather suddenly: we’ve had a few wetter spells than this this year without the river rising so high.  Neither of the really big new estates is upstream from us, but there’s a couple of smaller waterside developments, and an industrial site off the Okehampton road.