Abbots Moss hydrological and water chemistry investigation

Tender description

The purpose of this project is to collect water quality monitoring data for Abbots Moss both from groundwater and surface waters (see map), in order to provide an evidence base to assess the current condition, to inform actions to improve the water quality of the moss, and to help identifying possible sources of enrichment. Surface water samples will be taken at Gull pool, Round pool and Lily pool (see map) and water level recorded using differential GPS. Six shallow standpipe wells will be installed within the mires areas to provide water level and water quality data from within the peat mass. Within each mire area, one well will be located within the lagg fen and one within the M18/M2. The locations proposed (see map) are preliminary, the final positioning of well locations needs to be agreed with Natural England. The shallow wells will be made from 10cm diameter plastic pipe, and will be 1.5m long with screened holes at 5cm spacing along bottom 1m of pipe. The pipe will be capped with a screw top and the wells will be secured to a metal pin driven down into drift. After installation the elevation (AOD) of the top of well will be recorded using differential GPS. Water samples will be taken from the wells and the water levels recorded once a month from August 2017 to March 2018 .