Watchtree will for many people always be the remembered as the final resting place for the many thousands of Cattle, Sheep and Pigs infected with Foot and Mouth disease during 2001.
The site was chosen because not only was Watchtree close to large areas of infected farms and the contiguous cull but because the bedrock geology consists of relatively stable clays, an important consideration when dealing with large amounts of potentially infected liquids. Despite being considered a suitable location by the Environment Agency, the body whose decision it ultimately was to allow burials at Watchtree, much of the site had to be completely engineered to cater for such a large amount of animals. The most notable feature being the twelve metre deep bentonite and clay wall, constructed to contain deep ground water before being cleaned and released into nearby watercourses.
A new Bio reactor plant has now been constructed (2007) which will allow all liquids to be treated on-site as opposed to being transported via lorries through local villages to nearby waste treatment works.
For more information on Foot and Mouth, including how the burial trenches were built and designed please go to www.watchtree.co.uk.