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Water abstraction: An Act of Parliament in 1940 allowed Gosport Waterworks Company to begin to extract water from the chalk aquifer under The Moors. It was to act as an additional supply in case the pumping station at Soberton, that supplied all of the water for the population of Gosport, was hit in an air raid. After the war, a permanent works was constructed at the site. These included the excavation of adits, tunnels dug out of the chalk below the pump to help funnel water to it. |
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n 1973 Portsmouth Water Company, having purchased the Gosport Waterworks Company, commissioned a new treatment works at Gaters Mill on the River Itchen to help meet the growing demands for water from the Portsmouth & Gosport area. As a result Hoe Pumping Station was relegated to occasional use. |
| Unfortunately, the constant pumping of water from Hoe until the early 1970s and even its reduced use in recent decades has had an effect on The Moors and its diversity of wildlife. Recent survey work has shown that 7 species of molluscs (5 snails and 2 bivalves), known to be intolerant of drought, have become locally extinct. Similarly a recent survey of the stream and spring-head close to the pumping station has shown them to be devoid of fish. | |
| However, because of the need to maintain a high standard of water quality for the consumers, pesticides and fertilisers have not been used on the meadows around the pumping station. As a result these meadows are now some of the richest for diversity of wildflowers and insects at The Moors and are indicative of the former richness of our wider countryside. Portsmouth Water Company has also recently introduced a policy of leaving wildlife margins around its meadows to help create a more diverse habitat for wildlife following the annual hay cut. |
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| As part of the Environment Agency's national environment programme (2000-2005) Hoe Pumping Station is now scheduled for closure by March 2003, as it has been found to pose unacceptable risks to the Site of Special Scientific Interest. | |
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Natural succession of vegetation: The Moors is gradually changing from an open wet fen to a wet woodland environment. Young trees, particularly Alders, continually try to colonise the fen and, if allowed to grow unchecked, the rich wet grassland community would be lost under a dark canopy of trees. Maintaining a balance of habitats involves clearing this regrowth. Local conservation volunteer groups do a tremendous job undertaking annual work parties to assist with scrub clearance. The Hampshire Conservation Volunteers - www.hcv.org.uk, the local group of the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers - www.btcv.org.uk, and members of the Friends of Waltham's Wildlife, all assist with this work, but are always keen to welcome new members! The Countryside Service is lucky to have such a dedicated number of local volunteers who help with the running of the reserve in many ways. |
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