Aberthaw tankers water Fonmon pond's willow trees

Fonmon pond, in better, wetter days, is home to ducks and thriving willow trees

A power station has put 100,000 litres of fresh water in a pond in a bid to stop its willow trees from dying.

The pond at Fonmon, Vale of Glamorgan, has not refilled as part of a seasonal cycle that allows routine maintenance.

Villagers contacted nearby Aberthaw power station to ask for a diversion of its unchlorinated water supply.

Production manager Richard Little said three water tankers had each made two deliveries in the hope the "distressed" willows would survive until it rained.

He said: "The pond was cleaned out earlier this year and it refills naturally.

"It has a little trickle of a stream that should feed it and on the outward side it has a little weir, but this summer the supply stream has dried up.

"The pond has an island in the middle with willow trees, which were dying."

'Chlorine'

Mr Little said the village liaison committee with the power station asked Aberthaw for help, knowing it has a supply of raw or unchlorinated water.

He said: "Initially, we thought the rain would return but it didn't. You can't fill it with tap water because of the chlorine. The trees were somewhat distressed."

The water tanker deliveries have covered the sloping bottom of the pond, with water now going all the way round the island, said Mr Little.

He said: "It's a fair amount of work. I just hope it's successful and it starts to rain."

Andrew Loosemore, operational manager for highway maintenance at Vale of Glamorgan council, said: "We anticipate that the pond will fill naturally, as it has done in the past, once rainfall returns."

"However we will continue to monitor the situation. Following a recent site inspection we note that there is a fair amount of water in the pond at this time although it isn't at its capacity."