Meadow irrigation channels at Villebøl, Hjortlund and Jernved
Along the river Kongeå there were previously many meadow irrigation channels that ensured a steady water supply to the meadows. The meadow irrigation canals at Villebøl, Hjortlund and Jernved were built with the help of the Danish Heath Society in 1874.
The meadow irrigation and the Danish Heath Society
Hay and grass from the lush meadows were used for the cattle's winter feed, and a dry summer could destroy the harvest. By digging artificial channels to carry water to the meadows while providing drinking water for the animals, meant a more stable production and an improved economy for the farmers.
In 1874, the Danish Heath Society drew up a plan for four irrigation channels by the river Kongeå, namely Villebøl-Hjortlund, Villebøl-Jernved, Hjortlund-Brokær and Jernved-Gredstedbro.
The channels belonged together in pairs. Villebøl-Hjortlund (south of the river) and Villebøl-Jernved (north of the river) had a weir at Villebøl’s eastern border, while Hjortlund-Brokær (south) and Jernved-Gredstedbro (north) had a weir 600 m east of Hjortlund town. By the weir, the watercourse was dammed and held back, and from there the kilometres-long, artificial channels led out to the meadows.
Water conditions by the Kongeå
When the Danish Heath Society made their plans in 1874, they examined the water level, the river fall and the water velocity. The entries were made in feet and alen, but have been converted here to metric measurements.
The Danish Heath Society concluded that the water in the river Kongeå was very fruitful. From Villebøl to Gredstedbro, the Kongeå had a fall of approximately 6.3 m. When the water was low in the summer, the water flow was approximately 1.9 m3 per second, in autumn between 3.4 and 4.3 m3 per second - and often even more.
The excavation work was carried out by channel roughnecks - men, who travelled around with their wheelbarrows and shovels and worked on Danish Heath Society projects.
The channels by Villebøl, Hjortlund and Jernved
The Danish Heath Society plans for the easternmost channels by Villebøl show how extensive the work was.
The Villebøl-Hjortlund channel on the south side was 8.2 km and watered about 300 acres of land. The Villebøl-Jernved channel on the north side was 7.6 km and watered about 350 acres of land. The water flow in both channels was approximately 1.84 m3 per second, of which 0.28 m3 was loss.
The weir at Villebøl dammed the river about 70 cm above its normal summer water levels. The increased water levels meant that it was necessary to build dikes, so the meadows along the river did not get flooded. The dikes were carried 300 metres east of Ravning town, and a drainage ditch was also dug for the affected meadows. The ditch was led under channels and ended up in the river downstream by the sluice by the weir.
By all road bridges, shuttable sluices were built, so the sluices could be closed if the dikes were burst, or the water flow was too low.
The price of a meadow irrigation channel
The costs were calculated in rix-dollars. 1 rix-dollar was equal to 6 skillings. From 1 January 1875, Denmark changed to the krone-øre system, and then one rix-dollar could be exchanged for two kroner.
The excavation costs for Villebøl-Jernved channel was 5,727.84 rix-dollars. The price of the Villebøl-Hjortlund channel was 4,676.84 rix-dollars.
The sluice cost 2,000 rix-dollars for each channel, a total of 4,000 rix-dollars. The shuttable sluices at the road bridge cost 370 rix-dollars.
The channel was covered by a concrete bridge, where the total price is not known, but the cost is almost 4 dollars per square metre of bridge surface.
A joint work with joint agreements
The costs were shared between the landowners, who also signed agreements on how the future meadow irrigation would take place.
The construction and operation of the channel bridge was a joint expenditure, which was divided by the number of ’water parts’, that is, the amount of water they had access to. The channels were cleaned in April and September, and it was not permitted to put eel traps or fishing nets in the channels.
The irrigation took place from May to midsummer’s eve so that the grass had time to dry before the hay was harvested in July. It was also irrigated in October and November, or until the frost set in, to provide nutrients to the soil for next year
The channels were shut down
After 1945 there was no longer any interest in artificial meadow irrigation. The channel system was in a state of disrepair and it was too expensive to repair it. At the same time there had been a great development in the area of artificial fertiliser, which could now be bought relatively cheaply, and the landowners agreed to shut down the channels. The northern channel to Jernved was closed in 1947 and the south channel in 1953, after 75 years of valuable meadow irrigation.
Author: Johannes Garder, Kalvslund Parish archives
Sources and literature:
The plans for the work can be found at Kalvslund Parish archives.
Kalvslund Parish archives, see http://www.esbjergkommune.dk/borger/kultur-og-fritid/arkiver/arkiver.aspx
