Last week we had the dam inspector visit us - and no, I'm not being rude, what I mean is that an engineer had to come and inspect the Mire Loch dam to make sure that it is sound. It is only a small dam, but under UK law at present, all dams must be inspected annually, and have an extra rigorous inspection every 10 years. This is to ensure that they are solid enough to hold back the water they are impounding and also any once in a century flood incidents that could possibly occur, so making sure that the dam is not causing any threat to either lives or property. It does seem a little over the top for dams such as the one at the Mire Loch, as if it did burst, the worst you would get would be a few paddling cows! But nevertheless, the law states it has to be done.This year it was one of our 10 yearly inspections, so the whole of the top and the downstream surface of the dam had to be visible to see if there were any wet areas suggesting a breach. This is why we had to clear all the lovely scrubby vegetation off the dam before his visit - not just me getting carried away with the strimmer! And then he took measurements of the height of the dam (accurate to the nearest millimetre) at intervals along the crest to see if there has been any settlement since 10 years ago ie any places that were lower than others so might allow water to flood over.
I am pleased to report that all seems to be well, so Northfield Farm's cows can remain dry for a while yet!
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