Jeziorki's ponds are drying up

It's been a while since I last took a stroll around Jeziorki's ponds in daylight; I was quite shocked to see how low the water levels are, especially at the southern end. A combination of a hotter-than average year and of local-government neglect (the reeds are growing unchecked, soaking up the water) has led to a drying out of the ponds.

Below: the stump of a low-voltage power-line post was left abandoned by workers when the ponds were deepened in 2011. Usually, a tiny slither is visible above the waterline, a gull standing on it; today the whole post lies high and dry.

Below: looking north - acres of mud where water used to be. From a distance, the greenery looks like fresh grass, but it's mould, slime. Squelchy if you go in too far from the shoreline.

Left: reeds, growing out of control. They have powerful and efficient roots that push deep into the soil, sucking out the water. For the first few years since the park was established, there would be annual visits by men with machines to mow the lawns and cut back undergrowth.

I fear a return to the situation before 2010, when the ponds were crossable on foot, because the drainage ditches emptying surface water were choked by foliage, builder's debris and household rubbish. The result - catastrophic flooding in June 2010.

Right: the wooden pier at the southern end of the middle pond - no water in sight. The reeds here have taken over. . The few remaining birds that have not yet migrated standing around on the (very) thin ice on remaining patches of open water. The low water levels might explain the scarcity of diving birds such as grebes and pochards this summer - it's too shallow to dive!

Below: although there's more open water visible at the northern end of the ponds, it's clear the rushes are moving in, silently, inexorably, year after year. Will our swans still have a lake to return to? It's been their home for 11 years - but how many more?

I hope the local authorities will do something about the encroaching reed beds - it would be tragic if after all the work, all the investment into creating a wonderful environment it were all to go to seed once more.

This time three years ago:
Jeziorki - second track, second platform

This time four years ago:
Pitshanger Lane wins London's High Street of the Year award

This time six years ago:
Trouble ahead in Ukraine.

This time nine years ago:
Jeziorki, dawn, winter

This time 12 years ago:
Tuwim's Lokomotywa in English