THE Northern Wey Trust has come to "an important fork in the road" with real concern that if it is to continue its job of caring for Alton's river, more active members need to come on board to help with the workload.
In a report to the recent agm, chairman Paddy Mendham sought to outline a year of "unprecedented interest" in matters to do with water tables, the Wey, rain and flooding.
"Following a number of almost drought years in this part of Hampshire, the past year has seen a complete change round in the weather pattern and its effect on our environment," pointed out Mr Mendham.
He recalled that at Christmas Neatham Mill had been flooded for the first time in its lifetime of several hundred years. And this, he said, was symptomatic of the chaos which had occurred throughout the autumn and winter across the whole area.
However, the flooding at Cut Pound, Chawton Park Road, the New Odiham Road, Will Hall Farm and other areas of Alton had paled into insignificance beside the disaster in Farringdon.
"It is to be hoped that local knowledge will be heeded for future building plans and that never again will any building foundations be sited below the water table," he said.
Riverside walks had also posed something of a dilemma towards the latter part of the trust year, first with flooding and associated problems of raw sewage overflow at Holybourne.
Despite these twin horrors, Dr June Chatfield had organised an interesting walk in January when, almost for the first time, members had outnumbered non-members.
The next blow came with the closure of footpaths because of the foot-and-mouth crisis and future walks would have to await official clearance.
During part of the year, Maureen Thomas had continued to monitor and control the activities of the trust's river wardens but had then been forced to retire. "Whoever takes on this responsibility has an excellent starting point," assured Mr Mendham.
June Macdonald had also retired as membership secretary, a post she had held for three and a half years. "Thanks to her industry, the new incumbent will start ahead of the game," said Mr Mendham.
Despite experiencing some difficulty in arranging funding for a handbook he is writing about the river, Dr Trevor Weston was expecting to publish later this year. In addition, apart from her "enthusiastic leadership" of the trust's natural history section, Dr June Chatfield had produced an "excellent" NWT magazine each quarter.
While the committee was re-elected en bloc, Mr Mendham explained the need for two people to come forward to fill the crucial positions of membership secretary and warden co-ordinator.
"Without cover for these two vital positions, the heart of the Northern Wey Trust can not beat healthily," he warned.
In the event Elizabeth Carling volunteered to investigate the possibility of becoming membership secretary, but the position of warden co-ordinator remains vacant.