Backwater Reservoir
Encyclopedia
Backwater Reservoir is a reservoir
in north west Angus
, Scotland
.
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
on October 9, 1969. The reservoir's only purpose is to provide drinking water, and as such, it supplies Angus
, Dundee
, and parts of Perth and Kinross
. Backwater, together with the smaller Lintrathen Reservoir 4 kilometres to the south, is capable of supplying some 300,000 people with drinking water.
Scottish Water
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 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 24.55 million cubic metres. An unclassified road runs across the spillway
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
constructed the embankment and ancillary works. Soil Mechanics and Bachy Soletanche were responsible for the chemical grouting and for tunnelling work.
Backwater Reservoir can be reached by taking the B951 turn-off from the A93
(around 5 miles south of Spittal of Glenshee
) to the north-west, or from the A926 at Kirriemuir
to the south-east.
Reservoir
A reservoir , artificial lake or dam is used to store water.Reservoirs may be created in river valleys by the construction of a dam or may be built by excavation in the ground or by conventional construction techniques such as brickwork or cast concrete.The term reservoir may also be used to...
in north west Angus
Angus
Angus is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland, a registration county and a lieutenancy area. The council area borders Aberdeenshire, Perth and Kinross and Dundee City...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
.
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 of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
on October 9, 1969. The reservoir's only purpose is to provide drinking water, and as such, it supplies Angus
Angus
Angus is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland, a registration county and a lieutenancy area. The council area borders Aberdeenshire, Perth and Kinross and Dundee City...
, Dundee
Dundee
Dundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland and the 39th most populous settlement in the United Kingdom. It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea...
, and parts of Perth and Kinross
Perth and Kinross
Perth and Kinross is one of 32 council areas in Scotland, and a Lieutenancy Area. It borders onto the Aberdeenshire, Angus, Dundee City, Fife, Clackmannanshire, Stirling, Argyll and Bute and Highland council areas. Perth is the administrative centre...
. Backwater, together with the smaller Lintrathen Reservoir 4 kilometres to the south, is capable of supplying some 300,000 people with drinking water.
Scottish Water
Scottish Water
Scottish Water is a statutory corporation in Scotland that provides water and sewerage services. Unlike in England and Wales, water and sewerage provision in Scotland continues as a public corporation accountable to the public through the Scottish Government....
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 dam is an embankment
Embankment dam
An embankment dam is a massive artificial water barrier. It is typically created by the emplacement and compaction of a complex semi-plastic mound of various compositions of soil, sand, clay and/or rock. It has a semi-permanent waterproof natural covering for its surface, and a dense, waterproof...
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 24.55 million cubic metres. An unclassified road runs across the spillway
Spillway
A spillway is a structure used to provide the controlled release of flows from a dam or levee into a downstream area, typically being the river that was dammed. In the UK they may be known as overflow channels. Spillways release floods so that the water does not overtop and damage or even destroy...
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
Balfour Beatty plc is a British construction, engineering, military housing, rail and investment services company. It is one of the largest construction companies in the UK, and the 15th largest in the world...
constructed the embankment and ancillary works. Soil Mechanics and Bachy Soletanche were responsible for the chemical grouting and for tunnelling work.
Backwater Reservoir can be reached by taking the B951 turn-off from the A93
A93 road
The A93 is a major road in Scotland and the highest public road in the United Kingdom. It runs north from Perth through Blairgowrie and Rattray, then through the Grampian Mountains by way of Glenshee, the Cairnwell Pass and Glen Clunie to Braemar in Aberdeenshire...
(around 5 miles south of Spittal of Glenshee
Spittal of Glenshee
left|thumb|Standing stone at Spittal of GlensheeThe 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...
) to the north-west, or from the A926 at Kirriemuir
Kirriemuir
Kirriemuir, sometimes called Kirrie, is a burgh in Angus, Scotland.-History:The history of Kirriemuir extends to the early historical period and it appears to have been a centre of some ecclesiastical importance...
to the south-east.