Burnhope Reservoir
Encyclopedia
Burnhope Reservoir is a reservoir above the village of Wearhead
, County Durham
.
The reservoir was created by the construction of an earth embankment dam
across the valley of Burnhope Burn, a tributary of the River Wear
, 1 km above Wearhead
. Construction of the dam began in 1931 and was completed in 1937; an extensive network of narrow gauge railways, the Burnhope Reservoir railway
, was used during the construction of the dam. Filling of the reservoir commenced in 1936 and resulted in the drowning of the former village of Burnhope.
Burnhope Reservoir was a joint project of the Durham County Water Board and the Sunderland and South Shields Water Company. It is now owned and operated by Northumbrian Water
. The reservoir supplies water to the Wear Valley treatment works at Wearhead and there is a pipeline connection to Waskerley Reservoir
, which supplies Honey Hill water treatment works. The reservoir is also used to meet regulatory discharges into the River Wear to compensate for abstraction of water at Chester-le-Street
further downstream.
Wearhead
Wearhead is a village in County Durham, in England. It is situated at the top of Weardale between Cowshill and Ireshopeburn. It is named after the nearby source of the River Wear which runs eastwards for approx 40 miles to Sunderland....
, County Durham
County Durham
County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...
.
The reservoir was created by the construction of an earth embankment dam
Embankment dam
An embankment dam is a massive artificial water barrier. It is typically created by the emplacement and compaction of a complex semi-plastic mound of various compositions of soil, sand, clay and/or rock. It has a semi-permanent waterproof natural covering for its surface, and a dense, waterproof...
across the valley of Burnhope Burn, a tributary of the River Wear
River Wear
The River Wear is located in North East England, rising in the Pennines and flowing eastwards, mostly through County Durham, to the North Sea at Sunderland.-Geology and history:...
, 1 km above Wearhead
Wearhead
Wearhead is a village in County Durham, in England. It is situated at the top of Weardale between Cowshill and Ireshopeburn. It is named after the nearby source of the River Wear which runs eastwards for approx 40 miles to Sunderland....
. Construction of the dam began in 1931 and was completed in 1937; an extensive network of narrow gauge railways, the Burnhope Reservoir railway
Burnhope Reservoir railway
The Burnhope Reservoir railway was an industrial narrow gauge railway built to serve the construction of Burnhope Reservoir near Weardale. An extensive network of gauge lines connected the North Eastern Railway branch terminus at Weardale with the dam construction site.- Locomotives :...
, was used during the construction of the dam. Filling of the reservoir commenced in 1936 and resulted in the drowning of the former village of Burnhope.
Burnhope Reservoir was a joint project of the Durham County Water Board and the Sunderland and South Shields Water Company. It is now owned and operated by Northumbrian Water
Northumbrian Water
Northumbrian Water Group plc is the holding company for several companies in the water supply, sewerage and waste water industries. NWG's largest subsidiary is Northumbrian Water Limited , which is one of ten companies in England and Wales that are regulated water supply and sewerage utilities...
. The reservoir supplies water to the Wear Valley treatment works at Wearhead and there is a pipeline connection to Waskerley Reservoir
Waskerley Reservoir
Waskerley Reservoir is the largest of a group of three reservoirs located on Muggleswick Common, County Durham, the others being Smiddy Shaw and Hisehope Reservoirs....
, which supplies Honey Hill water treatment works. The reservoir is also used to meet regulatory discharges into the River Wear to compensate for abstraction of water at Chester-le-Street
Chester-le-Street
Chester-le-Street is a town in County Durham, England. It has a history going back to Roman times when it was called Concangis. The town is located south of Newcastle upon Tyne and west of Sunderland on the River Wear...
further downstream.