Wessenden Reservoir

Wessenden Reservoir
Wessenden Old Reservoir
Wessenden Reservoir
Location	West Yorkshire
Coordinates	53°34′26″N1°54′47″W / 53.574°N 1.913°W / 53.574; -1.913 (Wessenden Reservoir)
Type	reservoir
Primary inflows	Wessenden Brook
Primary outflows	Wessenden Brook
Basin  countries	United Kingdom
Built	1836
Max. length	0.5 kilometres (0.3 mi)
Max. width	250 metres (820 ft)
Water volume	486,430 cubic metres (107,000,000 imp gal)
Surface elevation	299 metres (981 ft)

Wessenden Reservoir is the second in a series of four reservoirs in the Wessenden Valley above the village of Marsden in West Yorkshire, at the northern end of the Peak District National Park. ^[1]

Wessenden Valley Reservoir Embankment Act 1836
Act of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long title	An Act for enlarging the Embankment of a Reservoir in the Valley of Wessenden in the Township of Marsden and Parish of Almondbury in the West Riding of the County of York, and for other Purposes.
Citation	6 & 7 Will. 4. c. xciv
Dates
Royal assent	4 July 1836
Other legislation
Repealed by	West Yorkshire Act 1980
Status: Repealed
Text of statute as originally enacted

Following the Wessenden Valley Reservoir Embankment Act 1836 (6 & 7 Will. 4. c. xciv), the Wessenden Commissioners (formally, "The Commissioners of the Wessenden Reservoir"), were established to build Wessenden Reservoir, to supply water to power the mills further down the valley and to protect people and property from floods. The reservoir was created by the construction of an earth embankment across Wessenden Brook. The reservoir ran dry during droughts in 1852, 1864 and 1865. The Huddersfield Corporation Waterworks Act 1890 (53 & 54 Vict. c. cxv) led to Huddersfield Corporation purchasing the reservoir from the Wessenden Commissioners in order to supply drinking water to the town. ^{[2] [3]}

Wessenden Reservoir has a storage capacity of 107,000,000 imperial gallons (490,000,000 L). ^[2] The reservoir is currently owned and operated by Yorkshire Water.

The Wessenden Valley Woodland Project was initiated in 2017 to develop natural habitats with increased biodiversity. ^[4]

The Pennine Way long-distance footpath runs along the northern side of the reservoir and its dam. ^[1] The Peak District Boundary Walk long-distance trail also passes the northern end of the dam. ^[5]

See also

• Yorkshire Water Way

References

1. OL1 Dark Peak area (Map). 1:25000. Explorer. Ordnance Survey. West sheet.
2. Woodhead, T.W. (1939). "History of the Huddersfield Water Supplies (1939) - Chapter V - Huddersfield Exposed: Exploring the History of the Huddersfield Area". Huddersfield Exposed. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
3. "Wessenden Reservoir - Huddersfield Exposed: Exploring the History of the Huddersfield Area". Huddersfield Exposed. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
4. Atkinson, Christopher (December 2017). "Wessenden Valley Woodland Project: An Archaeological Desk Based Assessment" (PDF). Retrieved 26 October 2020.
5. McCloy, Andrew (2017). Peak District Boundary Walk: 190 Miles Around the Edge of the National Park. Friends of the Peak District. ISBN   978-1909461536.