Industrial Water
The overspill of Abbeystead Reservoir, Abbeystead in the Forest of Bowland, Lancashire.
Abbeystead Reservoir was built in 1855 to supply mills lower down the River Wyre with a steady supply of water.
Ennerdale Water in the Lake District National Park, West Cumbria. Currently this lake is a reservoir providing water to West Cumbria, but from 2022 the West Cumbrians will receive their water from Thirlmere, Ennerdale will then revert to its wild origins and there are even plans to remove the weir.
Plaque for the Haweswater Reservoir in the Lake District National Park, Cumbria. In 1919, the people of Mardale Green learnt that Manchester Water Corporation had just secured the long awaited Haweswater Act, a compulsory purchase agreement of the day, which granted them permission to build a dam and drown the hamlet. It is said that not a penny was paid in compensation to the folks who lost their homes and livelihoods.
The dam wall, Haweswater Reservoir in the Lake District, Cumbria.
In 1919, the people of Mardale Green learnt that Manchester Water Corporation had just secured the long awaited Haweswater Act, a compulsory purchase agreement of the day, which granted them permission to build a dam and drown the hamlet.
The draw-off tower at Haweswater Reservoir in the Lake District, Cumbria.
The tower was built from the stonework and windows that came from the dismantled Holy Trinity Church at Mardale Green.
Dark skies over Kentmere Reservoir in the Lake District, Cumbria.
Kentmere Reservoir is fed by the streams running off the fells that form the source of the Kent, a river that once powered more water mills than any other English river. The reservoir was opened in 1848 to regulate the flow of the Kent to the mills.
The control wheel in the dam of Kentmere Reservoir, Cumbria.
Kentmere Reservoir is fed by the streams running off the fells that form the source of the Kent, a river that once powered more water mills than any other English river. The reservoir was opened in 1848 to regulate the flow of the Kent to the mills.
Kentmere Reservoir overflow, Kentmere in the Lake District, Cumbria.
Froswick rises in the distance.
Mardale Head, Haweswater Reservoir in the Lake District, Cumbria.
In 1919, the people of Mardale Green learnt that Manchester Water Corporation had just secured the long awaited Haweswater Act, a compulsory purchase agreement of the day, which granted them permission to build a dam and drown the hamlet. In dry weather, when the water level of the reservoir is very low, the remains of walls from the abandoned hamlet can be seen.
The outflow, Potter Tarn on Potter Fell, Staveley, Cumbria.
Potter Tarn was dammed in 1934 to provide a constant water supply for the Cropper’s Paper Mill at Burneside. In 1990 a weakened wall of Potter Tarn meant that the water level had to be lowered, leaving the outflow virtually redundant.
The boathouse, Gurnal Dubs on Potter Fell, Staveley in the Lake District, Cumbria.
Gurnal Dubs is now the largest tarn on Potter Fell, but it was once a collection of three pools (dubs) which were also damned to make a reservoir for Croppers Paper Mill in Burneside.
The outflow from Potter Tarn flows into Ghyll Pool on Potter Fell near Staveley in the Lake District, Cumbria.
Ghyll Pool is the smallest of three reservoirs on Potter Fell which were built to provide water for Cropper's Paper Mill at Burneside.
The outflow of Ghyll Pool on Potter Fell near Staveley in the Lake District National Park, Cumbria.
The impounding weir on Swindale Beck, Swindale in the Eden District of Cumbria.
This impounding weir allows water to be abstracted from Swindale Beck. From here, filtered water flows through the Swindale aqueduct into Haweswater Reservoir. The reservoir provides drinking water to Manchester.
Natural England, the RSPB, the Environment Agency and United Utilities have recently been working together to put the bends back into Swindale Beck that runs through the valley. This should prevent flooding and help the wildlife. The beck had been straightened in the 1800s to provide more land for grazing and hay making.
The overspill of Wet Sleddale Reservoir in Wet Sleddale, Cumbria.