Jeziorki pond development

Making the most of the All Saints' holiday, with construction work ceased all over Poland, to take a look at progress on the wetlands reclamation or flood alleviation project going on between ul. Trombity, Dumki and Kórnicka. Moni, home for the holiday, accompanied me on my walk, while Eddie took the opportunity to stay home for some 'me-time' as the British now put it.

Below: a large pond has emerged where until two months ago there were reed beds and marshes, clumps of slender silver birches precariously existing on islands that would disappear under water whenever there was a period of heavier rainfall.

 

Below: the largest of the ponds is divided into two levels, separated by a causeway which Moni negotiates following in my footsteps. There's a 10-15cm difference in levels, the lower one being to the south. Note the five excavators to the left of the pic, parked up by ul. Dumki.
 

Below: Moni clambers down a spoil heap towards a flat patch of heavy clay which has been flattened by earthmoving equipment. Houses on ul. Trombity on the top left of the pic.

Below: view from the top the spoil heap visible in the upper-centre of the above pic. To the right, gardens of houses which until now ran right down to the wetlands - no fencing was needed as the land was impassable for much of the year.

Below: atop the spoil heap by ul. Kórnicka. No fewer than ten (count 'em!) dumper trucks as well as an excavator. I've noticed that many of the farmers around Jeziorki have been gratefully accepting soil dug out from the wetlands. It raises the level of the land by several crucial centimetres - these fields are often flooded - and the soil is nutrient rich. The terms of the contract stipulate that the 68,000  cubic metres of excavated soil be taken at least 15km from the site, but surely it makes more sense to let local farmers use as much as they need to raise and improve the soil on their fields.

Given that each of the trucks in the above photo can carry 17 cubic metres, that's 4,000 truck-loads, or 400 return journeys for each of the ten trucks.

I must say, after eight weeks, the pace of the work here is impressive. The deadline is 30 October 2013. A year to go - I will be watching progress and reporting on it here.

This time last year:
Captain Wrona's perfect gear-up landing
[by far and away my most viewed post, viewed 2,903 times on that one day alone]

This time two years ago:
Where's the daylight gone?

This time four years ago:
All Saints' Day - Wszystkich Świętych