Jex Silt Pumping recently won a pond silt removal contract to remove the silt from concrete ponds at Cliveden House, near Maidenhead, Buckinghamshire. Cliveden House is a beautiful house, Gardens and Woodlands overlooking the River Themes, owned by the National Trust.

Having initially been asked to survey the project and tender for the project, Jex Silt Pumping was subsequently awarded the contract.

There are two concrete ponds joined by a channel. As the ponds are populated with fish, our first task was to insert a temporary Aqua dam within the channel to separate the two ponds.

With the Aqua dam in place, the fish could then be moved from one pond into the safety of the other. Once the fish had been removed we could then pump out the water out.

So that no brown water was pumped off site, we pumped the water through filters into a existing water course away from the project area.

When all the water was pumped out, and the few remaining fish safely placed in the holding pond, we could then begin the work removing the silt from the pond, using our unique silt pumping equipment, and cleaning it down.

The silt was removed to a Geotextile lined holding area. The Geotextile lining allows water to drain through leaving the nutrient rich solids that could then be removed and used elsewhere.

There was also quite a few brick planters and concrete debris that we removed. Once all the silt and debris had been removed, we jet washed and brushed the concrete to a very high standard in preparation for another contractor to come and make the concrete repairs.

During the process, and to protect the ground from our machinery, we laid protective boards, to ensure that there would be the least amount of disturbance to Cliveden House visitors.

With the first pond cleaned and repaired, we could refill it with water again. Once refilled, the fish could then be moved to the cleaned pond and the process repeated on the second pond.

Find out more about our pond silt removal services by contacting us now.