A few years back Yorkshire Water brought mains water up Raydaleside to Stalling Busk, where they installed a large underground tank.
This tank is fed intermittently at mains pressure and then the head of pressure from the height of the tank is used to feed water to Stalling Busk and back feed to Marsett.
The water main came straight past High Blean and the previous owners had High Blean connected to the Yorkshire Water supply.
Prior to having mains water, High Blean, along with all the neighbouring dwellings, relied on their own private supply. That for High Blean being in the filed opposite the house.
Sheep at the fence
Water tanks in the field
A modern two tank [plastic tanks] system had been installed some years back, which fed water off the moor much higher up the hill side, into the holding tanks. The water first comes into one tank, where it deposits some of the silt, before filling up the adjacent tank from which the house was fed. This water was then treated in an in-house water treatment system, that involved filters and ultra violet light.
While the house supply is now mains the private system has been kept, and is ideal for use in the garden or for washing the car etc.
The other day I decided to open one of the two taps on the system and found that this must be some form of drain as the water in the garden tap had stopped running.
A hike up the hill to take a look revealed two empty tanks, well, empty of water! In the first tank the floor was covered to a depth of about 5″ with sediment.
Back down the hill, to don Wellington’s, water proof trousers and an old Barbour jacket then collect brush, bucket and shovel. I also took the precaution of taking a ladder just in case I could not get out of the tank.
A climb down into the tank was required to be able to scoop up the thick sludge into a bucket, which was passed up out of the hole and tipped on the ground. Needless to say I was covered in mud when I had finished but it was one of those jobs that are strangely satisfying to complete.
Looking at all the mud we took out, I am glad that we are no longer relying on this supply for our household needs. It is too easy to take clean water for granted.
Sludge from the bottom of the inlet tank.
Quite a hike
