| Marlborough College began rehabilitating their section of the Kennet in Autumn 2003. The works affected both the river and the fishing lakes. Already it has had a positive impact on the health of the river at Marlborough. The following article by Sean Dempster explains the work.
In the autumn 2003 visitors to Marlborough College were intrigued to see a steam engine puffing away at the side of the empty trout ponds. This dragged a huge dredge through the ponds to remove thirty year's worth of accumulated silt, which has been deposited into a specially constructed reservoir where it will remain to dry out and be seeded over. When the dredging was completed the exit sluices of both ponds were replaced with 'monks' which consist of an outflow pipe housed at the base of a concrete tower over the top of which the water flows. This neat arrangement will enable precise control over the level of the ponds. The college stretch of the river has also benefitted from some rehabilitation work. At the top end of the fishery three gravel riffles will improve the flow rate and provide better conditions for Ranunculus growth thereby enhancing populations of insects, trout and grayling. Above Sawyer's Pool, a timber beam narrows an over-widened stretch of river and further down, three upstream V-shaped current deflectors were put in to scour out shallow pools in areas of uniform river bed. Finally, a large number of half-log cover boards have been placed throughout the fishery to provide trout and grayling with more physical protection from predators. (Written by Sean Dempster, Head of Biology, Marlborough College) | 
