Staines Reservoirs

Last updated

Staines Reservoirs
Staines Reservoirs 2011 aerial.jpg
Stanwell and the Staines Reservoirs in 2011
Surrey UK relief location map.jpg
Red pog.svg
Staines Reservoirs
Location Surrey
Coordinates 51°26′49″N0°29′12″W / 51.44694°N 0.48667°W / 51.44694; -0.48667
Type reservoir puddle clay embankment
Primary inflows 295,496 cubic metres/day
Primary outflows 364,000 cubic metres/day
Catchment area River Thames
Basin  countriesUnited Kingdom
Built1902
Surface area172 ha (430 acres)
Average depthDam walls 6.4–10.67 m (21.0–35.0 ft) high
Water volume15,175,000 m3 (535,900,000 cu ft)

The Staines Reservoirs are two large pumped storage reservoirs sitting to the east of the King George VI Reservoir near Heathrow airport in Surrey within the Colne Valley regional park. The village of Stanwell is mainly to the north east, and the town of Staines is to the south.

Contents

Both adjoin, west, the A3044. The south one adjoins the A30 where the road is bypassed by the intra-M25 motorway network but is a trunk road, maintained by National Highways. They were completed in 1902. [1]

History

For reliable and plentiful water supplies, three London water companies resolved to construct and operate two large reservoirs at seasonally waterlogged land partly in the parish of Staines, otherwise in Stanwell. [2] These would be pumped storage reservoirs to hold water abstracted from the Thames [3] receiving it from an aqueduct, then delivering it by another to treatment works for their supply pipes. The three were the New River Company, the Grand Junction Water Company and the West Middlesex Water Company. [4]

To obtain full indemnity and a compulsory purchase standard mechanism they promoted the Staines Reservoir Bill of 1896. [4] The Bill was opposed by some landowners, London and Middlesex County Councils. Nevertheless, the Bill was enacted, with amendments, as the Staines Reservoirs, &c. Act 1896 (59 & 60 Vict. c.ccxli). [4] The companies formed a joint committee to oversee the construction. [2] The two reservoirs, North and South, are separated by a 1,030-metre embankment dam. The embankments of the two have a 6- to 8-metre-deep puddle clay core having scoured out the surface gravel to the underlying London Clay. [5] They have total capacity of 3,338 million gallons (15.175 million m3) and were completed in 1902. [4] The valve towers are to the west.

Later in the same year of building the three companies, and seven others, dissolved into the Metropolitan Water Board under the Metropolis Water Act 1902.

Operation

The reservoirs are filled from the Staines Reservoirs Aqueduct, built as part of the works. Water was originally lifted from the aqueduct to the reservoirs by five steam driven engines, each with a capacity of 16 million gallons per day (72,737 m3/day). [2] The engines were housed in Staines pumping station south-west of the south reservoir. Under the original legal provisions, when the flow of the river at Bell Weir exceeded 265 million gallons a day (1.205 million m3/d) the joint company could abstract any surplus up to 100 million gallons (454,609 m3) of which 35 million gallons (159,113 m3) could be run directly to the filter beds at Hampton and the surplus (295,496 m3/day) pumped into the reservoirs. [6] The top water level in the North Reservoir is 3 m higher than the South reservoir. [5] Water for treatment and use is drawn from the reservoirs through the valve towers and delivered to the aqueduct to flow south-east to several water treatment works.

The Metropolitan Water Board operated the reservoirs until the Board was abolished in 1974 under the provisions of the Water Act 1973 and ownership and control transferred to the Thames Water Authority, now Thames Water.

In 1992 there was a proposal to increase the capacity of the reservoirs by raising the height of the dam walls and removing the dividing embankment. [7] The work was estimated to take up to six years to complete.

From April 2020 a sheet pile cut-off wall was installed in two places to prevent leakage of water through the core of the south reservoir's embankment. [8]

The area has been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) as it carries important wintering populations of tufted ducks, pochard, goosander and goldeneye. [9]

Staines Reservoirs Aqueduct

River Ash and North Thames Reservoirs
BSicon uSTR.svg
Thames
BSicon uSTRbr.svg
BSicon uexSTRq.svg
BSicon uexDOCKS.svg
1.
BSicon uSTR+l.svg
BSicon uSTRq.svg
BSicon uSTRq.svg
BSicon uSTRr.svg
BSicon uexDOCKS.svg
2.
BSicon uWEIRr.svg
BSicon uexSTRq.svg
BSicon uexSTR+r.svg
Intake of aqueduct (with sluice)
BSicon ueABZg+l.svg
BSicon WASSERq.svg
BSicon uexKRZWu.svg
Colne Brook
BSicon ueABZg+l.svg
BSicon WASSERq.svg
BSicon uexKRZWu.svg
County or Shire Ditch
BSicon uSTR.svg
BSicon WASSER+l.svg
BSicon uexKRZWu.svg
Wraysbury River
BSicon ueABZg+l.svg
BSicon WABZqr.svg
BSicon uexKRZWu.svg
BSicon uxHWEIRg.svg
BSicon uexWWSELq.svg
Colne (feeder of the three above)
BSicon uSTR.svg
BSicon uexSTR+l.svg
BSicon uexSTRr.svg
BSicon WASSER.svg
BSicon uSTR.svg
BSicon uexSTR.svg
BSicon -WASSER+l.svg
BSicon POINTERg@fq.svg
BSicon -WASSERr.svg
Ash
BSicon uSTR.svg
BSicon uexSTRl.svg
BSicon uexWBRUCKE2q.svg
BSicon uexSTR+r.svg
BSicon uSTR.svg
BSicon WASSER.svg
BSicon uxSTRbr.svg
BSicon uexDOCKS.svg
Pumping Station to 3. & 4. & 5.
BSicon uSTR.svg
BSicon WASSER.svg
BSicon uexENDEe.svg
BSicon uexDOCKS.svg
BSicon uexDOCKS.svg
overflow sluice to the Ash
BSicon uSTR.svg
BSicon WASSER.svg
BSicon uexSTR+l.svg
BSicon uexKHSTeq.svg
Gravity-drained aqueduct
BSicon uSTR.svg
BSicon WASSER.svg
BSicon uextSTRa.svg
BSicon uSTR.svg
BSicon RAoWq.svg
BSicon RAq.svg
BSicon uextSTR.svg
A308 road
BSicon uSTR.svg
BSicon WASSER.svg
BSicon uextSTRe.svg
BSicon uSTR.svg
BSicon WASSERl.svg
BSicon uexWBRUCKE2.svg
BSicon RAoW.svg
BSicon WASSER+r.svg
(River Ash under aqueduct)
BSicon uSTR.svg
BSicon WASSER+l.svg
BSicon uexWBRUCKE2.svg
BSicon RAoW.svg
BSicon WASSERr.svg
A308 road
BSicon uSTR.svg
BSicon -WASSER+l.svg
BSicon -WASSERr.svg
BSicon uexSTR.svg
BSicon uSTRbr.svg
BSicon uexWBRUCKE2q.svg
BSicon uexDOCKS.svg
BSicon uexSTR.svg
Pumping Station to 6.
BSicon uSTR.svg
BSicon WASSER.svg
BSicon BUILDING.svg
BSicon uexSTR.svg
Ashford Treatment Works for 6.
BSicon uSKRZ-Au.svg
BSicon RAoWq.svg
BSicon RAq.svg
BSicon uexSKRZ-Au.svg
A244 road
BSicon uSTR.svg
BSicon WASSER.svg
BSicon uexABZgl.svg
BSicon uexENDEeq.svg
BSicon BUILDING.svg
Kempton Treatment Works
BSicon ueABZg+l.svg
BSicon exWWSELrf.svg
BSicon uexENDEe.svg
(some water sent directly to below)
BSicon uSTRl.svg
BSicon uSTRq.svg
BSicon uSTR+r.svg
BSicon uexDOCKS.svg
BSicon BUILDING.svg
7.Grand Junction Reservoir
Hampton Treatment Works
BSicon uSTR.svg
BSicon uexDOCKS.svg
BSicon BUILDING.svg
8.
BSicon uSTR.svg
Thames

The Staines Reservoirs Aqueduct is a 13 km (8.1 mi) aqueduct [10] that runs from the River Thames at Hythe End in Buckinghamshire (51°26'24.4"N 0°32'28.8"W) to the Red House distribution reservoir (51°25'11.6"N 0°23'20.4"W) near Kempton Park. [10] It was built by the Staines Reservoirs Joint Committee and originally completed in 1902. [6] The maximum flow capacity of the aqueduct is 364 million litres per day (364,000 m3/day). [10]

Water is drawn from the north side of the Thames about 300 yards above Bell Weir, at a decorative sluice house. [2] This is provided with sluices to control the flow and screens to prevent debris entering the aqueduct. The water runs underground for about 350 yards in a north-east direction, it then flows in two steel siphons under the Colne Brook. It continues in a concrete lined open conduit, before going under the Wraysbury river in steel siphons, then east across Staines Moor and another siphon under the River Colne to Staines pumping station. From here water is lifted into the Staines and King George VI reservoirs by pumps. [2]

Water for treatment and use is drawn from the Staines and King George VI Reservoirs and flows along the Staines Reservoirs Aqueduct in an east-south-east direction to Ashford, then around the north side of Queen Mary Reservoir, water discharged from the reservoir enters the aqueduct at this point. The aqueduct continues across Ashford Common with a connection to Ashford Common water treatment works and then across Sunbury Common. [11] From Sunbury Common the aqueduct changes direction to the north-east, it curves around the north side of Kempton Park race course with connections to Sunbury and Kempton Park water treatment works, and flows in a south-east direction into the Red House distribution reservoir (51°25'11.6"N 0°23'20.4"W). [12] From here a pipeline and an open aqueduct takes water south to the reservoirs at the west end of Hampton waterworks. [13] From 1916 experiments were undertaken to pre-treat the water in the aqueduct with chlorine added to the water from the Staines reservoirs. [13]

To increase the supply of water the aqueduct was paralleled underground in the 1960s by the Staines–Kempton aqueduct tunnel. [14] This was built by the Metropolitan Water Board between 1960–63 and runs from Little Hythe on the Thames to the water treatment works at Kempton Park. It is 7.64 kilometres (4.75 mi) long and 2.4 metres (7 ft 10 in) in diameter. [10] The tunnel is lined with 150,000 expanded concrete wedge blocks. The contractors for the project were Edmund Nuttall, Sons and Company Limited. [15]

In February 2014, after a sustained period of heavy rain, the River Thames was at a high level that caused water to back up in the River Colne. [16] This then spilt into the Staines Reservoirs Aqueduct, which channelled the water to Staines. The aqueduct spilt over into the River Ash, which overtopped its banks and flooded about 80 houses in the Leacroft and Priory Green areas and damaged the aqueduct. [17]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Borough of Spelthorne</span> Place in England

Spelthorne is a local government district and borough in Surrey, England. Its council is based in Staines-upon-Thames; other settlements in the area include Ashford, Sunbury-on-Thames, Shepperton, Stanwell and Laleham.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metropolitan Water Board</span> Public utility supplying water to London 1903–1974

The Metropolitan Water Board was a municipal body formed in 1903 to manage the water supply in London, UK. The members of the board were nominated by the local authorities within its area of supply. In 1904 it took over the water supply functions from the eight private water companies which had previously supplied water to residents of London. The board oversaw a significant expansion of London's water supply infrastructure, building several new reservoirs and water treatment works.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">River Ash, Surrey</span> River in Surrey, England

The River Ash is a small, shallow river in Surrey, England. Its course of 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) is just outside Greater London. Work has been carried out to re-align, clear and build up a small, Littleton head of water and create two backwaters. One backwater dates to the medieval period; the other to the 1990s. It flows as one of the six distributaries of the River Colne from the south of Staines Moor immediately south of the Staines Bypass eastwards through the rest of the borough of Spelthorne before meeting the River Thames.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kempton Park Steam Engines</span> Preserved 1920s triple expansion steam engines

The Kempton Park steam engines are two large triple-expansion steam engines, dating from 1926–1929, at the Kempton Park Waterworks in south-west London. They were ordered by the Metropolitan Water Board and manufactured by Worthington-Simpson in Newark-On-Trent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Catskill Aqueduct</span>

The Catskill Aqueduct, part of the New York City water supply system, brings water from the Catskill Mountains to Yonkers where it connects to other parts of the system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">King George V Reservoir</span> Reservoir in London Borough of Enfield

The King George V Reservoir, also known as King George's Reservoir, is located in the London Borough of Enfield and is part of the Lee Valley Reservoir Chain that supplies London with drinking water. The storage reservoir is bordered by Sewardstone and Chingford to the east and Brimsdown and Ponders End to the west, and covers 420 acres, making it the largest in London. The reservoir and the nearby William Girling Reservoir are known collectively as the Chingford Reservoirs, and are owned and managed by Thames Water.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queen Mary Reservoir</span> Reservoir in Surrey

The Queen Mary Reservoir is one of the largest of London's reservoirs supplying fresh water to London and parts of surrounding counties, and is located in the Borough of Spelthorne in Surrey. The reservoir covers 707 acres (2.86 km2) and is 45 ft (14 m) above the surrounding area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stain Hill Reservoirs</span>

The Stain Hill Reservoirs in London, England with embankments occupy 0.175 square kilometres. They are a pair which sit high between others; Kempton Nature Reserve; riverside houses in Sunbury-on-Thames; and a low area of flood meadow to the west alongside the closing stretch of the Port Lane Brook. Other nearby settlements are Molesey, Hampton and Hanworth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bessborough Reservoir</span> Reservoir in Surrey

The Bessborough Reservoir is an embanked storage reservoir south of the River Thames in Surrey adjacent to the Knight Reservoir. To the south lies Queen Elizabeth II Reservoir and to the north the now disused Molesey Reservoirs. The A3050 runs to the north of the reservoir and the neighbouring town is Molesey to the east. It forms part the green buffer between Molesey and Walton on Thames. The reservoir is in the borough of Elmbridge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Knight Reservoir</span> Reservoir in Surrey

The Knight Reservoir is a large pumped storage reservoir located in the Borough of Elmbridge in Surrey. It was inaugurated in 1907 and stores up to 2,180 million litres of raw water abstracted from the River Thames prior to its treatment and supply to London and north Surrey. It is located south of the River Thames, west of West Molesey, and between Hurst Road (A3050) and Walton Road (B369). It is adjacent to, and west of, its twin Bessborough Reservoir.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Island Barn Reservoir</span> Reservoir in Elmbridge, Surrey

The Island Barn Reservoir lies south of the River Thames in England at West Molesey and north of Lower Green, Esher. The reservoir has a surface area of 122 acres (0.49 km2) and a capacity of 922 million gallons. Managed by Thames Water, it is in the Borough of Elmbridge and is surrounded by the River Mole to the west and the River Ember to the east. Queen Elizabeth II Reservoir is a larger reservoir to the West.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queen Elizabeth II Reservoir</span> Reservoir in Greater London, England

The Queen Elizabeth II Reservoir lies to the south of the River Thames and to the west of the Island Barn Reservoir. To the north are the Bessborough and Knight reservoirs. The A3050 runs to the north of the reservoir and it is situated in Walton on Thames. It is managed by Thames Water.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">London water supply infrastructure</span>

London's water supply infrastructure has developed over the centuries in line with the expansion of London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">King George VI Reservoir</span> Man made reservoir in Surrey since Middlesex before

The King George VI Reservoir sits between Stanwell Moor and Staines upon Thames, south-west of Heathrow, England. It is between Staines Moor and a north–south road abutting the Staines Reservoirs. The reservoir was opened in November 1947 and named after the then reigning monarch George VI. It is owned by Thames Water.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kempton Park Reservoirs</span>

Kempton Park Reservoirs are a Site of Special Scientific Interest in the London Borough of Hounslow and Kempton Park in Surrey. It is owned by Thames Water. It is part of South West London Waterbodies Ramsar site and Special Protection Area Kempton Park East reservoir is also a local nature reserve.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beckton Sewage Treatment Works</span> Sewage treatment plant in Newham, East London

Essex and Suffolk Water is a water supply company in the United Kingdom. It operates in two geographically distinct areas, one serving parts of Norfolk and Suffolk, and the other serving parts of Essex and Greater London. The total population served is 1.8 million. Essex and Suffolk is a 'water only' supplier, with sewerage services provided by Anglian Water and Thames Water within its areas of supply. It is part of the Northumbrian Water Group.

Ashford Common water treatment works is located in Ashford Surrey and supplies potable water to west London via the local distribution network and the Thames Water ring main. The works were constructed in the 1950s, and were modernised in the 1990s to increase the output.

The Kempton Park water treatment works, in the London Borough of Hounslow and Kempton Park Surrey, takes raw settled water abstracted from the River Thames and supplies treated potable water to consumers in north and west London. The works were inaugurated in 1906 and continue to provide treated water.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hampton Water Treatment Works</span> A water treatment works in Hampton, London

Hampton Water Treatment Works are water treatment works located on the River Thames in Hampton, London. Built in the second half of the 19th Century to supply London with fresh water, the Waterworks was in the past a significant local employer, and its brick pumphouses dominate the local landscape. The Waterworks are currently owned and operated by Thames Water, occupying a 66 ha site located between the Upper Sunbury Road (A308) and the River Thames. The Waterworks currently has a maximum output of 700 megalitres a day, and supplies ~30% of London's fresh water.

References

  1. British History on line
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Hunter, W. (1 October 1901). "Visit to the Staines Reservoir Works". Journal of the Sanitary Institute. 22 (4): 571–73.
  3. Bell, F. G. (1979). Engineering Geology and Geotechnics. Butterworth-Heinemann Ltd. pp. 268–9. ISBN   9780408003551.
  4. 1 2 3 4 London Metropolitan Archives (1897–1902). "Staines reservoir joint committee: water supply and distribution". aim25.com. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  5. 1 2 "Long-term stress measurements in the clay cores of storage reservoir embankments" (PDF). British Dams.org. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  6. 1 2 "The Staines Reservoirs". The Times. 18 June 1901. p. 5.
  7. "Water Resources Development Options" (PDF). September 1992. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  8. "Reservoir work to keep London's taps flowing for another 120 years". Thames Water. 14 April 2020. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  9. Colne Valley Park Archived 6 February 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  10. 1 2 3 4 "Staines-Kempton Tunnel Aqueduct". Engineering Timelines. 1960. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  11. Ordnance Survey Six-inch map, Middlesex XXIV.NE, dated 1920
  12. Ordnance Survey six-inch map, London Sheet Q, dated 1920
  13. 1 2 Wray, Anthony (December 2015). "Water Quality, Morbidity, and Mortality in London,1906-1926" (PDF). eh.net. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  14. Cuthbert, Eric William and Frank Wood (1962). "The Thames-Lee tunnel water main". Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers. 23 (4): 690–704. doi:10.1680/iicep.1962.10819 . Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  15. "A new water tunnel". New Scientist. 8 (201): 788. 22 September 1960.
  16. Surrey County Council (20 April 2015). "Flood Investigation Report River Ash and Knowle Green Area" (PDF). Surrey County Council. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  17. Goble, R. A. (7 March 2015). Staines aqueduct Flooding 2014 . Retrieved 19 June 2020.{{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)