Bewl Water is a
reservoir
A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation.
Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including control ...
in the valley of the
River Bewl, straddling the boundary between
Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
and
East Sussex
East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel coast. It is bordered by Kent to the north and east, West Sussex to the west, and Surrey to the north-west. The largest settlement in East ...
in England. It is about south of
Lamberhurst, Kent. The reservoir was part of a project to increase supplies of water in the area.
It supplies
Southern Water’s customers in the Medway towns,
Thanet Thanet may refer to:
*Isle of Thanet, a former island, now a peninsula, at the most easterly point of Kent, England
*Thanet District, a local government district containing the island
*Thanet College, former name of East Kent College
*Thanet Canal, ...
and
Hastings
Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England,
east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west a ...
.
Work began to construct the reservoir in 1973 by
damming and then flooding a valley. It was completed in 1975 having been filled with over 31,300 million litres of water. The project cost £11 million to build.
[ It is now the largest body of inland water in south east England.
In winter, when the flow in the ]River Medway
The River Medway is a river in South East England. It rises in the High Weald, East Sussex and flows through Tonbridge, Maidstone and the Medway conurbation in Kent, before emptying into the Thames Estuary near Sheerness, a total distance ...
exceeds 275 million litres per day, river water is pumped to storage in the reservoir. There is an outline plan to raise the water level by a further 3m to increase the yield by up to 30% to help with the growing water demand in south-east England. This will however put further demands on the River Medway to supply the additional water required with the potential for environmental degradation
Environmental degradation is the deterioration of the environment through depletion of resources such as quality of air, water and soil; the destruction of ecosystems; habitat destruction; the extinction of wildlife; and pollution. It is d ...
in the river and the eco-systems that it supports.
Leisure use
Bewl Water Outdoor Centre offers a wide range of training, team building and adventure opportunities, on and around the reservoir. These include sailing and windsurfing (formerly through
Bewl Valley Sailing Club, now through Bewl Sailing Association Ltd), rowing and sculling (through Bewl Bridge Rowing Club), Canoeing, Kayaking and Pedalo hire (through Bewl Canoe Club), and trout & predator fishing. Paddle Boarding is also available. Recent years has seen the introduction of the Bewl Water Aqua Park,
References
External links
Bewl Canoe ClubBewl Canoe Club Facebook pageBewl Sailing AssociationBewl Bridge Rowing ClubBewl Water Reservoir water level
{{authority control
Tourist attractions in Kent
Drinking water reservoirs in England
Buildings and structures in the Borough of Tunbridge Wells
Parks and open spaces in Kent
Country parks in Kent
Sport in Royal Tunbridge Wells
Reservoirs in Kent
Ticehurst