Flooding on Dorset Stour - Location.

Bear Mead consists of 3 fields (500 metres) on the right bank of the River Stour in Dorset, about 2.6 kms upstream of Julian's Bridge (Wimborne Minster). The flood plain here stretches 500 metres on each side of the river, and sometimes floods during the Winter. Because the grass and soil is underlayed by clay along this part of the Stour, runoff is quick and the river rises rapidly but falls quickly as well. Grass is lush and grows early due to high Watertable in winter, protecting the grass from frost. Cattle and sheep on the pasture need a quick and reliable flood warning so they can be moved in time, hence this website. A nearby field has a well, in which the watertable is measured every day. A scale placed in a bend in the river is used to measure the river height. Rainfall is measured at the author's home 2 miles away. Numbers and graphs are placed on this website every day (except when the author is away from home). A forcast of the river height is made 24 hours ahead, especially after heavy rain.

The River Stour at Bear Mead in April and at normal level

The River Stour at Bear Mead in April and at normal level

Compiled, formatted, hyperlinked, encoded, and copyright © 2004, John Palmer, All Rights Reserved.