Baitings Reservoir | |
---|---|
Location | West Yorkshire |
Coordinates | 53°39′57″N1°59′25″W / 53.66583°N 1.99028°W |
Type | Reservoir |
Primary outflows | River Ryburn |
Basin countries | United Kingdom |
Built | 1956 |
Max. length | 3,250 feet (990 m) |
Max. width | 1,035 feet (315 m) |
Baitings Reservoir is a large water supply reservoir operated by Yorkshire Water close to Ripponden in the West Yorkshire Pennines, England. It lies in the valley of the River Ryburn and is the higher of two reservoirs built to supply Wakefield with water and was completed in 1956. [1] The lower reservoir is Ryburn Reservoir.
Wakefield Corporation Waterworks started impounding the valley of the River Ryburn in the 1930s, with Ryburn Reservoir being completed in 1933. [2] Construction on Baitings took place 20 years later with completion in 1956. Baitings is a place name that derives from the Old Norse of Beit (pasture) and Eng (meadow), [3] Baitings Bridge, on an old road linking Yorkshire and Lancashire, was to be flooded under the reservoir so a concrete viaduct was built. [4] [5] During spells of very hot weather and drought conditions, the old packhorse bridge is revealed. [6]
The dam head is a curved structure that is 1,540 feet (470 m) long and over 160 feet (50 m) high. [7] The reservoir covers 59 acres (24 hectares) and has a catchment of 1,830 acres (742 hectares), and when it is full, it holds over 113,000,000 cubic feet (3,190,000 m3) of water. [8] The dam took eight years to complete at a cost of £1.4 million, and is located at 840 feet (256 m) above sea level. [9] [10] A tunnel connects reservoirs in valleys to the north with Baitings to allow for the transfer of water. Manshead Tunnel is 8,000 feet (2,400 m) long and was opened in 1962. [11] [12]
In 1989, the body of a man was found at the bottom of the reservoir during a period of dry weather, when the water was 40 feet (12 m) shallower than normal. [13] He had been murdered and his body was weighted down with a pick axe. The crime was featured on Crimewatch and remains unsolved. [14]
West Yorkshire is a ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and east, South Yorkshire and Derbyshire to the south, Greater Manchester to the south-west, and Lancashire to the west. The city of Leeds is the largest settlement.
Ripponden is a village and civil parish on the River Ryburn near Halifax in West Yorkshire, England. Historically it was part of the West Riding of Yorkshire. Its population was 6,412 at the time of the 2001 Census, and 7,421 in 2011.
Sowerby Bridge is a market town in the Upper Calder Valley in Calderdale in West Yorkshire, England. The Calderdale Council ward population at the 2011 census was 11,703.
The River Etherow is a river in northern England, and a tributary of the River Goyt. Although now passing through South Yorkshire, Derbyshire and Greater Manchester, it historically formed the ancient county boundary between Cheshire and Derbyshire. The upper valley is known as Longdendale. The river has a watershed of approximately 30 square miles (78 km2), and the area an annual rainfall of 52.5 inches (1,330 mm).
The Pennines, also known as the Pennine Chain or Pennine Hills, are a range of uplands mainly located in Northern England. Commonly described as the "backbone of England" because of its length and position, the range runs from the north Midlands to North East England, near the Anglo-Scottish border. The Peak District is the southern end of the range, rising northwards from its foothills near the Trent Valley in northern Staffordshire, and further north into eastern Cheshire and southern Derbyshire. Beyond this are the South Pennines, Yorkshire Dales, and North Pennines, ending at the Tyne Gap. Beyond the gap are the Border Moors and Cheviot Hills, which are included in some definitions of the range.
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The River Ryburn is a river in West Yorkshire, England. It flows through the villages of Rishworth, Ripponden and Triangle before flowing into the River Calder at Sowerby Bridge.
Yorkshire Water is a water supply and treatment utility company servicing West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, the East Riding of Yorkshire, part of North Lincolnshire, most of North Yorkshire and part of Derbyshire, in England. The company has its origins in the Yorkshire Water Authority, one of ten regional water authorities created by the Water Act 1973, and privatised under the terms of the Water Act 1989, when Yorkshire Water plc, the parent company of the Yorkshire Water business, was floated on the London Stock Exchange. The parent company was Kelda Group in 1999. In February 2008, Kelda Group was bought by a consortium of infrastructure funds.
Scammonden Reservoir is a water reservoir in West Yorkshire, England. Its water surface area when full is 42 hectares (0.16 sq mi). The level of the bellmouth overflow above sea level is 252 metres (827 ft). The reservoir holds 78,000,000,000 litres (1.7×1010 imp gal; 2.1×1010 US gal). Its length is 1.4 kilometres (0.9 mi).
Barkisland is a village in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is 1 mile (1.6 km) east of Ripponden, 2 miles (3.2 km) south of Sowerby Bridge and 4 miles (6.4 km) south-west of Halifax town centre.
The Rishworth branch was built in the Ryburn valley by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway and linked Sowerby Bridge with Rishworth and served the villages of Triangle, Ripponden, Barkisland and Rishworth.
Ryburn Reservoir is a supply reservoir operated by Yorkshire Water close to Ripponden in the Yorkshire Pennines, England. It lies in the valley of the River Ryburn and is the lower of two reservoirs built in the valley to supply Wakefield with water and was completed in 1933. The upper reservoir is Baitings Reservoir.
The River Calder is a river in West Yorkshire, in Northern England.
Rivelin Dams are a pair of water storage reservoirs situated in the upper part of the Rivelin Valley, 5 miles (8 km) west of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England. The dams are owned by Yorkshire Water and provide water to 319,000 people as well as compensation water for the River Rivelin. They are named Upper and Lower and fall just within the eastern boundary of the Peak District.
Scammonden Bridge, also known locally as the Brown Cow Bridge, spans the Deanhead cutting carrying the B6114 Elland to Buckstones road over the M62 motorway in Kirklees, West Yorkshire, England. The bridge and Scammonden Reservoir to the west are named after Scammonden, the village that was flooded to accommodate the reservoir whose dam carries the motorway. On opening, the bridge was the longest concrete arch bridge in the UK.
Booth Wood Reservoir is a man-made upland reservoir that lies north of the M62 motorway and south of the A672 road near to Rishworth and Ripponden in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England. The reservoir was approved for construction in 1966 and completed in 1971. It supplies water to Wakefield.
Winscar Reservoir, is a compensation reservoir on the headwaters of the River Don in South Yorkshire, England. The reservoir is located at Dunford Bridge, 25 miles (40 km) northwest of Sheffield, and is just inside the Peak District National Park on the Pennine watershed. The reservoir was built on an existing dam and has suffered from leaking which necessitated a new membrane being installed at the dam head in the years 2000 and 2001.
The Yorkshire Water Way is a 104-mile (167 km) path that runs from Kettlewell in North Yorkshire to Langsett in South Yorkshire. It was devised by Mark Reid in conjunction with Yorkshire Water (YW) and it passes by over more than 20 reservoirs which are operated by Yorkshire Water.
Watersheddles Reservoir is an upland artificial lake in Lancashire, England. The reservoir was opened in 1877 by the Keighley Corporation Water Works, and is now owned by Yorkshire Water. It supplies water to the Worth Valley and Keighley area and compounds several streams at the source of the River Worth.
Upper Barden Reservoir is an upland fresh water reservoir, one of two reservoirs that collect water from Barden Moor, and dam Barden Beck, a tributary of the River Wharfe in the Yorkshire Dales, North Yorkshire, England. The reservoir was opened in 1882 and also supplies fresh water to the Nidd Aqueduct, which transports it to Bradford. Upper Barden Reservoir was the second of the reservoirs to be built,.