Kielder Water is a large artificial reservoir
in Northumberland in North East England in Kielder Forest.
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The forest is owned and managed by the United Kingdom Forestry
Commission. It is the largest artificial lake in the United Kingdom
by capacity and it is surrounded by Kielder Forest, the largest
human-made woodland in Europe. It was planned in the late 1960s to
satisfy an expected rise in demand for water to support a booming
UK industrial economy. It was constructed between 1975 and 1981 by
an AMEC/Balfour Beatty joint venture and was opened by Queen
Elizabeth II. It took two years for the valley to fill with water
completely once construction was completed.
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Why was a reservoir built
here?
In the 1970's, the demand for water by industries (especially
oil and chemical industries of Teeside) and domestic users in the
northeast of England was increasing dramatically and was expected
to exceed supply by 1981. An area for a new reservoir was needed
and this part of Northumbria was chosen because of:
- This area had a large flat-bottomed valley with steep
sides
- The base rock is impermeable, a volcanic rock, basalt, part of
the Whinsill
- Annual rainfall is high, often over 1370 mm pa
- It was sparsely populated
- The land was marginal land which could only be used for
forestry and rough grazing.
- There is a large water catchment area
- There were local deposits of boulder clay, sand and gravel
needed in the dam construction
But, by the time the scheme was built all these industries had
closed and it looked like there was too much water supply. However,
in the 1990s there was a drought in Yorkshire and water was bought
from Kielder. Some people still argue the scheme was a waste of
money but a great deal of tourism has developed in the area to
bring in revenue
Key Facts and Statistics :
- Construction period 7 years
- Number of trees felled 1,500 000
- Families re-housed 7
- Height of dam wall 52 metres
- Length of dam 1.2km
- Surface area of Kielder Water1084 hectares
- Supply capability up to 1.2million m3 of water a day
- Length of shoreline created 43km
- Length of reservoir 10km
- Volume of water 190 million litres - it took 18 months to
fill
There was a lot of discussion about the reservoir before it was
built.
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Positive
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Negative
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A hydro-electric power station, using the water released by
Kielder reservoir can generate 6MW of power.
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Reducing the flow of water from a river changes the landscape of
that river which can affect plants and animals. A dam holds back
sediment, especially the gravel and pebbles. The depletion of
riverbed gravels reduces spawning grounds for fish and
invertebrates.
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The scheme includes 8 sites of Special Scientific Interest
(SSSI), covering 7,800 ha and containing unique plants and animals.
Kielder is one of the last places for red squirrels in England
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Clean water released from the dam has the increased potential
for erosion downstream of the dam – this is known as clear
water erosion.
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The lake is 11km long and stores nearly 200,000 million litres
of water – this helps in times of water shortages
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58 families were displaced from their homes by the dam, their
houses disappearing beneath the lake that formed.
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Huge volumes of timber are produced at Kielder, the number of
standing trees is 150 million and they are replanted once felled.
Kielder forest employs up to 260 employees.
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When the dam was completed it flooded an area of scenic natural
beauty.
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It can act as a flood prevention measure.
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2,700 acres of farmland and habitat was lost as a result of the
scheme.
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A visitors study showed that £6million is raised through tourism
to Kielder every year.
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The forest at Kielder has been criticised for being too much of
a monoculture (only one type of tree) – mainly Sitka
Spruce
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Kielder Dam Cross Section
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Constructing Kielder Reservoir (Veleha)
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A view of the dam today
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Kielder Water is capable of holding 200 billion litres of water
behind its dam. The dam is 1,140 metres long at the crest and a
maximum height of 52 metres. Kielder was the first example in the
UK of a regional water grid, being designed to meet the demands of
the north east well into the future.
Hydrogeological analyses indicated that water seeping beneath
the dam would emerge in the river valley, downstream and so would
not be lost. The design of the dam therefore could accommodate a
certain controlled under seepage and so it was unnecessary to
provide a cut-off under its entire length. The water tightness was
achieved by linking the clay core to the upstream clay key by means
of a horizontal clay blanket. For most of its length, the clay key
is formed in the natural glacial clay overburden which mantles the
rock.
Curtain grouting was added to seal major fissures or voids and
reduce permeability. The grouting had a water:cement ration of
14:1. Pressures were tested using a hydrofracture test and a
minimum of 3 metres of clay embankment was placed before grouting.
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More information about this procedure can be found in the paper:
Rock grouting and water testing at Kielder Dam, Northumberland by
Donald Bruce and James Millmore.
Two hydro-electric generators at Kielder dam produce electricity
for the national grid. A water release of 1,300 million litres a
day can produce enough power to illuminate a town the size of
Hexham (population 11,000). Kielder Water can provide up to 909
million litres a day, nearly as much as all the other sources in
the region added together.
Thanks to the following for information:
Rock grouting and water testing at Kielder Dam, Northumberland
by Donald Bruce and James Millmore.
http://www.coolgeography.co.uk
Geogonline
http://www.slideshare.net/tudorgeog/l12-kielder-water-case-study
Construction of Kielder reservoir
Visit Kielder
To claim this earth cache, visit the dam and please post a photo
or two of the area if you can (optional task)
E-mail me (with Applied Hydrology as the subject)
- The date the Queen opened Kielder Water and the name of and the
rock type used for the sculpture at the north end of the dam. Can
you explain if (or not) this would be a good base rock for a body
of water?
- Estimate the angle of slope on both sides of the reservoir to
get some idea of the valley shape below the water and hence the
amount of water it is holding.
- Is the width or the length important in the amount of water
storage in this reservoir? Why?
- Try to estimate the angle of the dam - it is essential that no
slippage occurs here. Then look at the water level and tell me how
far below the dam overspill it is and what sort of percentage of
water might be held in Kielder Reservoir on the day of your
visit.
But most of all, enjoy your visit!
