Kielder Water
Kielder Reservoir | ||
---|---|---|
Primary inflows River North Tyne, Kielder Burn, Lewis Burn | | |
Primary outflows | River North Tyne | |
Basin countries | England | |
Managing agency | Northumbrian Water | |
Built | 1975–1981 | |
First flooded | 1982 | |
Max. length | 5.65 miles (9.09 km) | |
Max. width | 2 miles (3.2 km) | |
Surface area | 10.86 square kilometres (2,680 acres) | |
Water volume | 200 billion litres (44×10 9 imp gal) | |
Shore length1 | 27.5 mi (44.3 km) | |
Surface elevation | 184 m (604 ft) | |
Islands | 1 | |
Sections/sub-basins | Bakethin Reservoir | |
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure. |
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, one of the biggest man-made woodlands 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.
Kielder Water is owned by
Etymology
The name Kielder was first recorded in 1309 as Keldre.[2] Originating as a river name,[2] Kielder may have the same origin as the various rivers named Calder, such as the one in West Yorkshire.[2][3] The name may be derived from the Brittonic caleto-/ā, with the root sense of "hard" (Welsh caled),[3] suffixed with -duβr meaning "water" (Welsh dwr).[3]
Derivation from the Gaelic caol dobhar meaning "narrow stream" has also been suggested.[4]
Construction
After 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 were designed for Northumbrian Water by consulting civil engineers
The design meant the loss of numerous farms and a school. About 95 people had been resident in the area prior to its development.
Work was completed in 1981. Queen Elizabeth II officially opened the project the following year. The valley took a further two years to fill with water completely.
Operations
The reservoir's purpose is to provide compensating discharges into the
to support abstractions of water further downstream while maintaining minimum acceptable levels in the rivers in times of drought.There are two main visitor centres at Kielder Water – Leaplish waterside park and Tower Knowe visitor centre – and other facilities at
Hydroelectric plant
Kielder Water is also the site of England's largest
The plant generates electricity using dual turbines which produce 6
Notes
Citations
- ^ "Kielder Water". British Lakes. Archived from the original on 15 January 2017. Retrieved 1 December 2017.
- ^ a b c Mawer, Allen (1920). The Place-names of Northumberland and Durham. Cambridge: CUP Archive. p. 92.
- ^ a b c James, Alan. "A Guide to the Place-Name Evidence" (PDF). SPNS – The Brittonic Language in the Old North. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 August 2017. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
- ^ "The place-names of England and Wales". Retrieved 17 July 2017.
- ^ Coats, D.J. and Ruffle, N.J. (1982) "The Kielder Water Scheme" Proc. Instn. Civ. Engrs, Part 1, Vol 72, May, 135-147.
- ^ Coats, D.J. and Rocke, G. (1982) "The Kielder Headworks" Proc. Instn. Civ. Engrs, Part 1, Vol 72, May, 149-176.
- ^ Coats, D.J., Berry, N.S.M.B. and Banks, D.J. (1982) "The Kielder Transfer Works" Proc. Instn. Civ. Engrs, Part 1, Vol 72, May, 177-208.
- ^ "North Tyne – Kielder Reservoir". Bridges on the Tyne. Retrieved 26 February 2013.
- ^ "Structure Images of the North East". University of Newcastle upon Tyne. Archived from the original on 13 June 2011.
- ^ "KIELDER WATER RESERVOIR PROJECT (Hansard, 20 March 1973)". api.parliament.uk. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
- ^ "Water power on a large scale" (PDF). Tynedale Renewable Energy Trail. p. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 November 2015. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
References
- McCulloch, C.S. "The Kielder Water Scheme: the last of its kind?" (PDF). University of Oxford.