Backwater Reservoir is a

reservoir A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to water storage, store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation. Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of wa ...

in north west

Angus, Scotland Angus (; ) is one of the 32 Local government in Scotland, local government council areas of Scotland, and a Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area. The council area borders Aberdeenshire, Dundee City (council area), Dundee City and Per ...

. The reservoir's sole purpose is to provide drinking water, and as such, it supplies

Angus Angus may refer to: *Angus, Scotland, a council area of Scotland, and formerly a province, sheriffdom, county and district of Scotland * Angus, Canada, a community in Essa, Ontario Animals * Angus cattle, various breeds of beef cattle Media * ...

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

, and parts of

Perth and Kinross Perth and Kinross (; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and a Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area. It is bordered by Highland (council area), Highland and Aberdeenshire to the north, Angus, Scotland, Angus, Dundee, and F ...

. Backwater, together with the smaller Lintrathen Reservoir to the south, is capable of supplying some 300,000 people with drinking water.

History

The project was initiated by the Dundee Corporation Waterworks in 1964 and absorbed into the newly created East of Scotland Water Board in 1968, before final completion and the official opening by

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

on 9 October 1969.

Scottish Water Scottish Water is a statutory corporation that provides water and sewerage services across Scotland. It is accountable to the public through the Scottish Government. Operations Scottish Water provides drinking water to 2.46 million households a ...

are the present owners and operators of the reservoir, following the amalgamation of the East of Scotland Water Authority with the West of Scotland and North of Scotland Water Authorities to form a single company. Scottish Water is owned by the

Scottish Government The Scottish Government (, ) is the executive arm of the devolved government of Scotland. It was formed in 1999 as the Scottish Executive following the 1997 referendum on Scottish devolution, and is headquartered at St Andrew's House in ...

Technical

The dam is an embankment type, measuring 42.6 metres high by 570 metres long. The reservoir extends for 3 kilometres behind the dam and has a peak capacity of . An unclassified road runs across the

spillway A spillway is a structure used to provide the controlled release of water downstream from a dam or levee, typically into the riverbed of the dammed river itself. In the United Kingdom, they may be known as overflow channels. Spillways ensure tha ...

and embankment before following the east bank of the reservoir. This road runs for a further 2 kilometres before coming to an end. The dam was the first in Britain to use chemical grouting to create a waterproof barrier below the embankment.

Balfour Beatty Balfour Beatty plc () is an international infrastructure group based in the United Kingdom with capabilities in construction services, support services and infrastructure investments. A constituent of the FTSE 250 Index, the company is active ac ...

constructed the embankment and ancillary works. Soil Mechanics and Bachy Soletanche were responsible for the chemical grouting and for tunnelling work. Consulting engineer was

Babtie, Shaw and Morton Babtie, Shaw and Morton was a firm of civil engineers based in Glasgow, Scotland, and noted for its work on bridges, dams and reservoirs. History It took its name following the 1906 merger of Babtie & Bonn (a partnership founded by John Babtie ...

Location

Backwater Reservoir is located within

Glen Isla The River Isla () is a tributary of the River Tay in Angus and Perthshire, Scotland. It rises in the Grampians before flowing down through Glen Isla into the Valley of Strathmore. After a course of 46 miles (74 km), it falls into the Ta ...

. The reservoir can be reached by taking the B951 turn-off from the A93 (around 5 miles south of

Spittal of Glenshee The Spittal of Glenshee (, ) lies at the head of Glenshee in the highlands of eastern Perth and Kinross, Scotland, where the confluence of many small streams flowing south out of the Grampians form the Shee Water. For centuries, there has bee ...

) to the north-west, or from the A926 at

Kirriemuir Kirriemuir ( , ; ), sometimes called Kirrie or the ''Wee Red Toon'', is a burgh in Angus, Scotland, United Kingdom. The playwright J. M. Barrie was born and buried here and a statue of Peter Pan is in the town square. History Some of th ...

to the south-east. The perimeter of the reservoir forms a popular walking route.

References

Images

File:Backwater Reservoir dam wall under construction (level adjusted).jpg, Backwater Reservoir during construction, June 1968 File:Backwater Reservoir E.JPG, Plaque detailing the technical specifications File:Backwater Reservoir D.JPG, Plaque commemorating the official opening ceremony File:Backwater Reservoir B.JPG, Backwater Reservoir dam with the spillway in the foreground File:Backwater Reservoir C.JPG, The

{{Authority control Reservoirs in Angus, Scotland Buildings and structures in Angus, Scotland Buildings and structures completed in 1969

History

Technical

Location

See also

References

Images