Trying To Dredge Up Hope

But one Arundel couple who are not looking forward to the work are Carol and Antony Buller, who say their entire livelihood has been put on the line.

The couple have 20 rowing boats, which they hire out on the lake every summer, and they will not be able to trade this year due to the work being carried out.

The rowing boat business has been in the family for the past 80 years and Antony has been in charge of the boats for the past 14 years.

The Bullers say their claim for compensation to Southern Water was rejected, they have been kept in the dark about the dredging work and have had to make repeated phone calls to find out what is happening.

"We were told last Friday there wasn't going to be any compensation. It just leaves us in debt, really," explained Mrs Buller.

Arundel Estates owns the lake and charges the Bullers rent for their business but has said it will give the Bullers a complete rent rebate for this year.

A spokesman for Southern Water said: "Southern Water has kept all relevant parties informed of details of the scheme. The company will seriously consider any legitimate claim for compensation."

Arundel Estates manager Peter Knight said: "The lake dried out in 1996 and again in 1998 and extensive studies carried out by the Environment Agency found the main reasons were due to a combination of silt build up, drought conditions and water abstraction.

A partnership agreement between the Environment Agency, Southern Water and Arundel Estates was drawn up to give the green light to dredging work.

Southern Water project manager Malcolm Ayres said: "In order to safeguard the future of the lake, it will need to be made deeper. Southern Water will dredge the lake in two phases to ensure that we do not adversely affect the lake's environment."