Land Survey - Cotswolds WP

Large scale land survey; building a Hydrology Model

Over the course of three months a large scale land survey was carried out on the Lower Mill Estate in the Cotswolds. The site is made up of a number of lakes, the areas between which are being developed with second homes; as well as facilities such as a Spa, Swimming Pool, Tennis Courts and Restaurants. The Thames also runs through the site and feeds into the lakes.

The purpose of the survey was to aid the companies hydrologist to build a model of the site. Of particular interest were the high points between the lakes, as well as the Thames itself. The end of 2011 was very dry and as a result the rivers and streams around the estate were mainly dry, this made the surveyors job easier as it was possible to traverse down the river or stream itself.

However, the area (footpaths/roads/tracks) between the lakes were very overgrown, because of this it was only possible to survey one chainage (20m) at a time. From the finished survey the hydrologist was then able to produce cross-sections from one lake to another, detailing the high spots. Sectional surveys were also necessary through numerous points of the Thames, in particular when the river was crossed by either foot or track bridge (example below).