Spelga 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 the

townland A townland (; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a traditional small land division used in Ireland and in the Western Isles of Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of medieval Gaelic origin, predating the Norman invasion, and mo ...

of Spelga () in the

Mourne Mountains The Mourne Mountains ( ; ), also called the Mournes or the Mountains of Mourne, are a predominantly granite mountain range in County Down in the south-east of Northern Ireland. They include the highest mountain in all of Ulster, Slieve Donard ...

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 552,261. It borders County Antrim to the ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

. It was formed by the Spelga Dam and sits at over above sea level. It has a volume of 2,700,000 cubic metres and a catchment area of 5.423 km². It occupies an area known as Deers Meadow, and impounds the

River Bann The River Bann (from , meaning "the goddess"; Ulster Scots dialects, Ulster-Scots: ''Bann Wattèr'') is the longest rivers, river in Northern Ireland, its length, Upper and Lower Bann combined, being 129 km (80 mi). The total length ...

, which rises on the nearby

Slieve Muck Slieve Muck ( ; ) is one of the Mourne Mountains in County Down, Northern Ireland. It has a height of . The River Bann has its source on the northern slope. Slieve Muck has three summits which are composed of Silurian shale covering the under ...

Construction

The reservoir and dam were built as part of a project that had origins in the idea of supplying water to

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

, in 1894. The Spelga Reservoir itself was developed between 1953 and 1957. As part of the construction, the B27 road was rebuilt above the reservoir to replace the original road submerged by the construction. The Dam was designed by the Belfast engineering firm of R. Ferguson and S. McIlveen and construction was undertaken by John Laing & Sons. Prior to the construction of the reservoir, archaeological excavation was carried out and three groups of

transhumant Transhumance is a type of pastoralism or nomadism, a seasonal movement of livestock between fixed summer and winter pastures. In montane regions (''vertical transhumance''), it implies movement between higher pastures in summer and lower ...

buildings, or booley huts, were identified. Some of the structures were dated to the eighteenth century, but it is thought that the site had been used since pre-historic times due to the presence of flint flakes.

Use

The

Portadown Portadown ( ) is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The town is based on the River Bann in the north of the county, about southwest of Belfast. It is in the Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council area and had a population ...

and

Banbridge Banbridge ( ) is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies on the River Bann and the A1 road and is named after a bridge built over the Bann in 1712. It is in the civil parish of Seapatrick and the historic barony of Iveagh Upper ...

areas receive their water supply from the reservoir. Whilst it has not been stocked with fish for some years, it is home to wild pike and

trout Trout (: trout) is a generic common name for numerous species of carnivorous freshwater ray-finned fishes belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of which are members of the subfamily Salmoninae in the ...

. In 2018 and again in 2020, heatwaves and dry weather caused the water level to drop. This exposed a portion of the original road through the Deers Meadow, including a bridge which was formerly the first bridge on the

. File:Spelga Dam, old road and bridge - geograph.org.uk - 645608.jpg, The old bridge and road, exposed during low water levels. File:Spelga Dam - geograph.org.uk - 403286.jpg, Spelga Dam

References

Sources

External links

Robert's Photo Gallery

BFI archive film of the dam's construction
{{authority control Northern Ireland coast and countryside Reservoirs in County Down Tourist attractions in County Down