Serpentine Regeneration Programme Starts
Hyde ParkThe world famous Serpentine Lake in Hyde Park is today starting a major ecological enhancement programme expected to run for the next five years. The programme will include groundbreaking treatments of the water, new plantings along the banks and detailed research into the lake and how it functions as water body.
The Serpentine already has a high water quality, being fed by a pure underground spring and being measured at least once a week by the Environment Agency. The Royal Parks, which recently acquired the prestigious ISO14001 eco-sustainability qualification, is committed to building on this in order to create the healthiest and most beautiful body of open water in London.
Water quality enhancement
The water quality enhancement will be carried out by the Penergetic Company of Switzerland and their UK representatives, Envirokind. The Penergetic System was developed in Switzerland by the eponymous Robert Wilhelm and over the last 22 years has achieved remarkable results across the world. This will be the first lake regeneration project using the Penergetic System in the UK; similar projects are currently taking place in Germany, Austria, Switzerland India and china.
A battery-powered boat will cruise up and down the Serpentine applying the treatments. The initial treatment will start on 2nd September 2003 at 6.00am and treatments will continue every two weeks until November, restarting after the winter weather in February or March 2004. No chemicals are used; all the materials are biological and are actually approved by the EU for use in organic agriculture.
Whilst this is going on the current concrete shoreline will have new plantings to encourage greater habitat diversity and to increase the beauty of the area.
As a result of the programme it is hoped the Serpentine will be more oxygenated with less sediment, reduced algae levels and improved visibility, making it even more attractive to swimmers and wildlife than it already is.
Extensive independent analyses will be conducted to coincide with the treatment. These will enable students to study the impact of the treatment and will provide The Royal Parks with a comprehensive assessment of the biology and ecology of the Serpentine.
Source: The Royal Parks
The Royal Parks Press Office, T: 0207 298 2128
E: press@royalparks.gsi.gov.uk
Editor's notes: The Serpentine was created by Queen Caroline, wife of George II, in 1730s when she merged the existing fishponds along the flow of the river Westbourne and the Tyburn brook.
The Serpentine is much used for boating and swimming. There are 110 boats on the Serpentine, a mixture of pedalos and row boats and a swimming area, the Lido, on the south-west side of the Serpentine.
The Royal Parks are: Bushy Park, Green Park, Greenwich Park, Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens, Regent's Park (with Primrose Hill), Richmond Park and St James's Park.