I've just read the latest 'Central Fife Times' article referring to concerns over the water issuing from the Fordell Day Level.

This recalled the several email exchanges I had, early in 2007, with a person from Crossgates, who eventually gave evidence against the Muir Dean opencast mining proposal, at the Public Inquiry on behalf of the local community. He asked me several questions then, mainly relating to the locations of the old mines and drainage systems of the old Fordell Colliery, and, with his own researched material, supported by some of my comments, he felt quite confident in presenting his case later in the year.

Unfortunately, as we all know only too well, the case against the Muir Dean opencast project opening up was lost and I know that the gentleman was extremely disappointed.

I too - just from a 'mining historian's viewpoint' - was very concerned about the possible risk of severe flooding brought about by disruption of the ancient Fordell Day Level, as you can read in this extract from one of my email exchanges with the Crossgates source.

7th May 2007 " ...You will have read in Tom Hunter's book* about the water at the south end of the Fordell Day Level draining at a point north of Fordell Castle. I don't know exactly where it heads after this but it probably reaches the Forth.We both know from our reading reports in Tom Hunter's book that mining engineers from the very first days of Fordell coal mining, linked one section with another and took great pride in designing the positions of pits and air shafts on these long runs to ensure that maintenance could be undertaken in the event of a blockage occurring. As the day level drainage expanded northwards, even the more modern Alice Pit was apparently linked into a proper drainage system coupled to the older Fordell Day Level to the south. I just cannot imagine what will happen to the millions of gallons of water hoping to reach the outlet to the north of Fordell Castle if this ancient drainage system is either disrupted or removed by opencast mining. If the area around and to the south of Fordell village was able to soak away water naturally, I doubt if the Fordell owners, and their mining engineers, would have taken on the vast feat of designing the drainage system in the first place. I can only guess at the extent of water drainage/flooding problems in this area in the future if this ancient feat of mining ingenuity is disturbed, or more likely, devastated. What do the folks who own property at or near Drumcooper or Broomieside think of all of this? I must admit to not knowing the exact dimensions of the proposed opencasting. ... " * "Mining in the Crossgates Area of West Fife" - T. F. Hunter (Branksome 2001).

I had indicated, in other communications, that I had a fear that, even after landscaping of the finished project area in years to come (will this ever be done now?), if the opencast and landscaping companies did not provide for suitable drainage to replicate what the historic Fordell Day Level has done for centuries, the water table could rise to such an extent that flooding could eventually affect the land where building of homes was taking place, to the south of Crossgates, or more seriously encroach on land close to the nearby M90, to the west of the Muir Dean site.

CHRIS SPARLING, Mining Historian.