Kielder Reservoir

Kielder Water is a large man-made reservoir in Northumberland in North East England. It is the largest artificial lake in the United Kingdom by capacity of water and it is surrounded by Kielder Forest, the biggest man-made woodland in Europe. The scheme was planned in the late 1960s to satisfy an expected rise in demand for water to support a booming UK industrial economy. But the decline of traditional heavy industry, together with more water-efficient industrial processes and better control of water supply leakage, served to undermine the original justification for the reservoir and many came to criticise the government-funded project as a white elephant. Kielder Water is owned by Northumbrian Water, and holds 200 billion litres (44 billion gallons, or 0. 2 cubic km), making it the largest artificial reservoir in the UK by capacity (Rutland Water is the largest by surface area). It has a 27. 5mi shoreline, and is 39. 7 km (24. 6 miles) from the sea. ConstructionAfter the scheme was approved by Parliament in 1974, work to build the reservoir and the dam at the hamlet of Yarrow in the Kielder Valley began in 1975. The reservoir and dam was designed for Northumbrian Water by consulting engineers Babtie, Shaw and Morton. with Sir Frederick Gibberd and Partners as consulting architect. Earth moving and infrastructure construction was undertaken in a joint venture with AMEC and Balfour Beatty. The design meant the loss of numerous farms and a school. The former permanent way of the Border Counties Railway was also taken away through the development of the reservoir.

Kielder Water is a large man-made reservoir in Northumberland in North East England. It is the largest artificial lake in the United Kingdom by capacity of water and it is surrounded by Kielder Forest, the biggest man-made woodland in Europe. The scheme was planned in the late 1960s to satisfy an expected rise in demand for water to support a booming UK industrial economy. But the decline of traditional heavy industry, together with more water-efficient industrial processes and better control of water supply leakage, served to undermine the original justification for the reservoir and many came to criticise the government-funded project as a white elephant. Kielder Water is owned by Northumbrian Water, and holds 200 billion litres (44 billion gallons, or 0. 2 cubic km), making it the largest artificial reservoir in the UK by capacity (Rutland Water is the largest by surface area). It has a 27. 5mi shoreline, and is 39. 7 km (24. 6 miles) from the sea. ConstructionAfter the scheme was approved by Parliament in 1974, work to build the reservoir and the dam at the hamlet of Yarrow in the Kielder Valley began in 1975. The reservoir and dam was designed for Northumbrian Water by consulting engineers Babtie, Shaw and Morton. with Sir Frederick Gibberd and Partners as consulting architect. Earth moving and infrastructure construction was undertaken in a joint venture with AMEC and Balfour Beatty. The design meant the loss of numerous farms and a school. The former permanent way of the Border Counties Railway was also taken away through the development of the reservoir.