The Craig Goch Dam, often called the Top dam, is a

masonry dam Masonry dams are dams made out of masonrymainly stone and brick, sometimes joined with mortar. They are either the gravity or the arch-gravity type. The largest masonry dam in the World is Nagarjuna Sagar Dam, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, in ...

in the

Elan Valley The Elan Valley () is a river valley situated to the west of Rhayader, in Powys, Wales, sometimes known as the "Welsh Lake District". It covers of lake and countryside. The valley contains the Elan Valley Reservoirs and Elan Village, desi ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

and creates the upper-most of the

Elan Valley Reservoirs The Elan Valley Reservoirs () are a chain of man-made lakes created from damming the Elan and Claerwen rivers within the Elan Valley in Mid Wales. The reservoirs, which were built by the Birmingham Corporation Water Department, provide clea ...

. Construction on the dam began in 1897, and it was completed in 1904. The primary purpose of the dam and the other reservoirs is to supply

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

with water. In 1997, a 480 kW

hydroelectric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...

generator began operation at the dam. Craig Goch Dam views.jpg Craig Goch Dam.jpg

Potential river transfer scheme

The Craig Goch reservoir had been identified in the 1970s and in the 1990s as a potential source of water for the south-east of England. The latest project envisaged raising the existing dam, adding a secondary dam at the head of the

River Ystwyth The River Ystwyth (; ; ) is a river in Ceredigion, Wales. The length of the main river is . Its catchment area covers . Its source is a number of streams that include the Afon Diliw, located on the west slopes of Plynlimon on the border of Cere ...

valley and piping water from the high head generated into the

River Severn The River Severn (, ), at long, is the longest river in Great Britain. It is also the river with the most voluminous flow of water by far in all of England and Wales, with an average flow rate of at Apperley, Gloucestershire. It rises in t ...

and subsequently transferring it by pipeline aqueduct to the head-waters of the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

in the Cotswolds.

Media appearances

Craig Goch Dam was featured prominently in Episode 3 Series 3 of BBC Wales drama series ''

Hinterland Hinterland is a German word meaning the 'land behind' a city, a port, or similar. Its use in English was first documented by the geographer George Chisholm in his ''Handbook of Commercial Geography'' (1888). Originally the term was associated wi ...

'', broadcast 2017.

References

{{stack, {{Portal, Wales, United Kingdom, Transport, Renewable energy Dams in Wales Hydroelectric power stations in Wales Dams completed in 1904 Masonry dams Rhayader