Pode Hole is a hive of business activity with a number of companies based there.
However, the village is also critically important to the entire district because of two organisations based at Pode Hole: Lincolnshire County Council’s Highway Depot and Welland & Deepings Internal Drainage Board’s Pode Hole pumping station.
All motorists rely on the Pode Hole depot’s gritters to keep our roads clear of snow and ice in winter time, and this year it has six new 26-tonne Mercedes Schmidt gritters to assist in this task.
A special annual blessing ceremony for the team involved in salting the roads in all hours and all weathers was conducted this week by the Rev Peter Garland.
At Pode Hole pumping station, foreman Mick Hemfrey and his team are looking after 600km of open watercourse and sewers to ensure that we don’t end up under water!
The confluence of the major North and South Droves is one side of the pumping station: all water from dykes across the South Holland area ends up in one of these two droves.
The pumping station lifts the water 15ft into Vernatt’s Drain, on the other side of the station, and is let out to sea at Surfleet.
Rainfall is constantly monitored and electric pumps automatically switch on if water levels should rise beyond a certain point at night. When there is a lot of rain, three diesel pumps are switched on. Mick says they can move about 250,000 gallons of water a minute through the pumps. The board also saves water, in weirs and irrigation drains. Photo: SG211112-10MD