Keeping a lake healthy and beautiful can be a real challenge, especially when you’re dealing with large reed infestations. That’s exactly what we faced from August to September during a project at Crichel Estate, which was commissioned by Farewell Plant Hire. The main goal? To clear the lakebed of reeds. While they do offer ecological benefits, reeds can quickly overtake a lake, reducing water quality and making it harder to enjoy both its beauty and recreational uses.
The Challenge at Crichel Estate
The lake at Crichel Estate had become overrun with reeds. Although these plants provide a habitat for wildlife, their unchecked growth was causing serious issues: lower water quality, restricted flow, and limited access for both visitors and animals. To bring the lake back to its former glory and make it more usable, we knew we had to come up with a strategic solution.
The Solution: A 9-Ton Excavator on a Pontoon
To tackle the large-scale reed removal, a pontoon was topped with crane bog mats to spread the weight and a 9 Ton excavator with a long reach bucket was housed on the pontoon allowing the machine to effectively clear the reeds from the lake. An outboard motor was also fitted to the pontoon allowing the pontoon to be moved around the lake and to deposit the reeds back on the bank of the lake.
