RESTORING STREAMS. I posted here about the subterranean rivers of London, including the Walbrook, now underground, which was probably important in the original location of Londinium. The thousands of dams and millponds built in this country in the 18th and 19th centuries altered the landscape. This article describes the difficulties that scientists have in trying to restore the flow of streams, now that the dams and mills are gone. Attempts to create a meandering channel for aesthetic reasons may fail because the natural form of the stream happens to be a “braided channel” with sandbars. Removing debris to improve stream flow may destroy fish habitats. One scientist thinks it is impossible to restore the streams; too many valleys have been affected by huge amounts of silt because of old mill dams.
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I remember a walking tour of London I took years ago that focused on pubs. It seems that each pub used to brew, and we’re talking Elizabethan times and earlier, its own unique beer. And they were located OVER a tributary of the Thames. The stones of their basements formed a very large “plug” that could be removed and water fished up right into the basement to be used in the beer-making process. But this plug was visible only if you knew it was there. Supposedly, in modern times, and please don’t ask me to remember when that began, some pubs were having problems with flooding in their basements. That’s when they discovered they were actually sitting on a little river that sometimes rose into their building. All the brewing stuff had been forgotten.
This reminds me of how Roman Bath apparently was discovered. Obviously, the baths had been in use at least in the 18th century, but it seems the people who bathed in and drank the waters didn’t know about its Roman origin or the extent of what was going on “under there.” Then in the 19th century some home owners complained about flooding; the city fathers explored the source of complaint. And, to their wonder, there it was. It’s almost too wonderful to be true. Are we sure it’s true? I’ve forgotten my source. Anybody know about this?