AEG Trail1 Traditional Cache
Dalesman: This cache has been in need of care and maintenance for some time and as the owner has not responded to my note I am archiving it.
Many thanks,
DalesmanX
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Size: 
(small)
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Addingham Environment Group Trail - series of six caches marking key points of interest as per the guided tour at the Environment Day held in May 2017
Cache 1: Town Beck, Burnside
Town Beck is a tributary of the R. Wharfe. It is largely hidden from view through the village by extensive culverting and heavily modified by 19th century weir construction. Burnside is one of the few places in the village where the beck can be easily observed.
The beck as far upstream as this point is regarded as belonging to the “main river” and therefore the responsibility of the Environment Agency (EA) for both water quantity and water quality.
The green box houses a River Levels Recorder that provides the EA with a continuous record of river level based on measurements from a pressure sensor in the water. By knowing the height of the water and the timing of peak flow at different sites the EA can then estimate the risk of flooding downstream.
The EA also have responsibility for monitoring water quality. In the past the main problem will have been organic pollution from household and agricultural waste. Organic pollution events still take place from time to time. When they occur they should be reported immediately to the EA, but the main problem now is from nutrient pollution (mainly nitrogen and phosphorus compounds) which comes from agricultural fertilisers and surface runoff from impermeable surfaces in the built-up area of the village.
Water quality has a major impact on the kinds of organisms that can live in the beck, especially the composition of algae growing on stones and the invertebrate animals that feed on algae. These organisms can in turn be used as indicators of water quality.
Good water quality is essential to support our native brown trout. Although not of the highest quality Town Beck water is capable of supporting trout and indeed trout have been seen at Burnside by local residents quite frequently. The main problem for trout, however, is the presence of weirs and culverts making it difficult for fish to move between the beck and the Wharfe or progress further upstream.
The bankside vegetation is also poorly developed as the beck within the village flows mainly within an artificial stone channel.
A new village Becks Project is designed to address these issues attempting to combine the need to control flood risk and the need to improve habitat for wildlife.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
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