Elan aqueduct

Last updated

Elan aqueduct on the Deepwood Dingle Crossing, Bringewood Elan Aqueduct - geograph.org.uk - 1191323.jpg
Elan aqueduct on the Deepwood Dingle Crossing, Bringewood

The Elan aqueduct crosses Wales and the Midlands of England, running eastwards from the Elan Valley Reservoirs in Mid Wales to Birmingham's Frankley Reservoir, carrying drinking water for Birmingham. [1]

Contents

It delivers enormous quantities of water by gravity across the mid-Wales countryside, through north Herefordshire, south Shropshire and into the West Midlands through eleven major river valleys. The aqueduct is 73 miles (117 km) long, down which the water travels at less than two miles per hour (3 km/h), taking one and a half days to get to Birmingham.

Construction

View over the aqueduct as it crosses the River Severn Aqueduct over River Severn - geograph.org.uk - 1576671.jpg
View over the aqueduct as it crosses the River Severn

Work on the first 13 miles (21 km) of the route from the Elan Valley was started in June 1896 by Birmingham Corporation Water Department. The aqueduct was built in sections by outside contractors, using three types of construction depending on the nature of the terrain it had to cross. "Cut and cover" was essentially a brick lined channel which was manually dug as a trench, then roofed over and concealed underground. Where the route of the aqueduct encountered high ground above the gradient needed to maintain the downward slope, a certain amount of tunnelling was required; at one point the tunnel is 100 metres below ground, ensuring the aqueduct was at only 220 metres above sea level. This totalled around 12 miles (19 km), with the longest single length being just over 4 miles (6.4 km). The third construction type was the use of either bridged aqueducts or inverted syphons to cross valleys and rivers where the ground level dropped too steeply for the required hydraulic gradient to be maintained. The pipeline was continued at the other side of the valley at the same height as the delivery pipe. With the inverted syphon technique, the water naturally fills the lower section of pipe due to the head of water and flow continues downstream.

The aqueduct over the River Severn River Severn,Bewdley Aqueduct - geograph.org.uk - 1712149.jpg
The aqueduct over the River Severn

The initial scheme opened in 1906 with two 42 in-diameter (1,100 mm) pipes. Two more pipes of 63 in (1,600 mm) diameter were added between 1919 and 1961.

Engineer

The engineer for the Elan aqueduct scheme was James Mansergh.

Route

The route is Caban Coch ( 52°15′51″N3°35′52″W / 52.264032°N 3.597665°W / 52.264032; -3.597665 (Caban Coch) ) via Elan Valley, Rhayader, Dolau, Knighton, Leintwardine, Downton on the Rock, Ludlow, Knowbury, Cleobury Mortimer, Bewdley and Hagley to Frankley ( 52°25′21″N2°00′05″W / 52.422451°N 2.001329°W / 52.422451; -2.001329 (Frankley) ).

Features

Pediment of valve house with "Birmingham Corporation Water" wording Valve house pediment - geograph.org.uk - 1191311.jpg
Pediment of valve house with "Birmingham Corporation Water" wording

The aqueduct and its related features are visible [2] at:

Some crossings over canals and railways have been replaced by buried pipes. [27] [26] The line of the buried aqueduct through woodland is marked by a 20 metres (66 ft) "exclusion zone" from which trees are removed. [27]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">River Teme</span> River in Wales and England

The River Teme rises in Mid Wales, south of Newtown, and flows southeast roughly forming the border between England and Wales for several miles through Knighton before entering England in the vicinity of Bucknell and continuing east to Ludlow in Shropshire. From there, it flows to the north of Tenbury Wells on the Shropshire/Worcestershire border on its way to join the River Severn south of Worcester. The whole of the River Teme was designated as an SSSI by English Nature in 1996.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">River Tame, West Midlands</span> River in the West Midlands of England

The River Tame is a river in the West Midlands of England, and one of the principal tributaries of the River Trent. The Tame is about 95 km (59 mi) long from the source at Oldbury to its confluence with the Trent near Alrewas, but the main river length of the entire catchment, i.e. the Tame and its main tributaries, is about 285 km (177 mi).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elan Valley Reservoirs</span> Reservoirs in Elan Valley in Powys, Wales

The Elan Valley Reservoirs are a chain of man-made lakes created from damming the Elan and Claerwen rivers within the Elan Valley in Mid Wales. The reservoirs, which were built by the Birmingham Corporation Water Department, provide clean drinking water for Birmingham in the West Midlands of England. The five lakes are known as the Claerwen, Craig-goch, Pen-y-garreg, Garreg-ddu, and Caban-coch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elan Valley</span>

The Elan Valley is a river valley situated to the west of Rhayader, in Powys, Wales, sometimes known as the "Welsh Lake District". It covers 70 square miles (180 km2) of lake and countryside.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A456 road</span> Road in the West Midlands

Known as the Hagley Road in Birmingham, the A456 is a main road in England running between Central Birmingham and Woofferton, Shropshire, south of Ludlow. Some sections of the route, for example Edgbaston near Bearwood, are also the route of the Elan Aqueduct which carries Birmingham's water supply from the Elan Valley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">River Rea, Shropshire</span> River in Shropshire and Worcestershire, England

The River Rea is a small river that flows through south east Shropshire, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Claerwen</span> Reservoir in Wales

The Claerwen reservoir and dam in Powys, Wales, were the last additions to the Elan Valley Reservoirs system built to provide water for the increasing water demand of the city of Birmingham and the West Midlands. The dam is built mainly of concrete, with the exterior dam face in dressed stone. The dam is a gravity dam built upon solid rock foundations as the pressure of the reservoir behind should be in equilibrium with the total weight of the dam itself thus causing complete stability.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Severn Way</span> Long-distance footpath in the United Kingdom

The Severn Way is a waymarked long-distance footpath in the United Kingdom, which follows the course of the River Severn through Mid Wales and western England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ludford, Shropshire</span> Village in Shropshire, England

Ludford is a small village and civil parish in south Shropshire, England. The parish is situated adjacent to the market town of Ludlow and was, until 1895, partly in Herefordshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A4113 road</span> Road in Eastern Wales, Herefordshire and Shropshire

The A4113 road is a single-carriageway road that runs from Knighton in Powys to Bromfield in Shropshire, United Kingdom, passing through north Herefordshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Turkey Brook</span> River in the northern outskirts of London

Turkey Brook is a river in the northern outskirts of London. It rises in Potters Bar, Hertfordshire, and flows broadly eastwards to merge with the River Lea Navigation near Enfield Lock.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Staines Reservoirs</span> Storage reservoirs in the United Kingdom

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tame Valley Canal</span>

The Tame Valley Canal is a relatively late (1844) canal in the West Midlands of England. It forms part of the Birmingham Canal Navigations. It takes its name from the roughly-parallel River Tame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salford Junction</span>

Salford Junction is the canal junction of the Grand Union and Tame Valley Canals with the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal. It is in the north of the administrative city of Birmingham, England and historically marked a tripoint between two divisions of Aston to the south and Erdington to the north. It is directly east of most of the Gravelly Hill Interchange. With Aston and Bordesley Junctions it forms a circuit, at the heart of Birmingham's thirty-five miles of canals.

The BCN Main Line, or Birmingham Canal Navigations Main Line is the evolving route of the Birmingham Canal between Birmingham and Wolverhampton in England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Herefordshire Trail</span>

The Herefordshire Trail is a long distance footpath in Herefordshire, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Birmingham Corporation Water Department</span>

The Birmingham Corporation Water Department was responsible for the supply of water to Birmingham, England, from 1876 to 1974. It was also known as Birmingham Corporation Waterworks Department.

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

The River Corve is a minor river in Shropshire, England. It is a tributary of the River Teme which it joins in the town of Ludlow, and which joins the River Severn at Powick near Worcester. The valley it flows through is known as the Corvedale, a term used as a general name for the area, and a name used for example by the primary school in Diddlebury. It is sometimes (archaically) spelled "Corf", which is its pronunciation.

Dulas or Afon Dulas is a minor right-bank tributary of the River Ithon, itself a tributary of the River Wye. It is formed as several brooks meet near the village of Nantmel and runs east and southeast to join the Ithon just to the north of Llandrindod Wells.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ledwyche Brook</span> River in south Shropshire, England

Ledwyche Brook is a minor river in south Shropshire, England. It is sometimes referred to as the River Ledwyche and spelled variously, including "Ledwich" or "Ledwych". The brook is a tributary of the River Teme.

References

  1. "Powys Digital History Project: Elan Valley Dams" . Retrieved 9 May 2012.
  2. Bing aerial imagery; OpenStreetMap; names from OS 1st Edition. Note: for linear features, coordinates are given for the Western, upstream, end.
  3. Evison, Mark. "Water Pipeline". Geograph Britain and Ireland .
  4. Evison, Mark. "Valve House". Geograph Britain and Ireland .
  5. Evison, Mark. "Nantmel Aqueduct". Geograph Britain and Ireland .
  6. Evison, Mark. "Carmel Aqueduct". Geograph Britain and Ireland .
  7. Evison, Mark. "The Elan Valley Aqueduct". Geograph Britain and Ireland .
  8. Evison, Mark. "Observatory Point on The Elan Valley Aqueduct". Geograph Britain and Ireland .
  9. Evison, Mark. "Surveying Point On The Elan Aqueduct". Geograph Britain and Ireland .
  10. Evison, Mark. "Hidden Aqueduct". Geograph Britain and Ireland .
  11. Evison, Mark. "Valve House on The Elan Valley Aqueduct". Geograph Britain and Ireland .
  12. Evison, Mark. "Access To Water". Geograph Britain and Ireland .
  13. Webb, Richard. "Under Park Bank". Geograph Britain and Ireland .
  14. Capper, Ian. "Route of Elan Aqueduct". Geograph Britain and Ireland .
  15. Capper, Ian. "Line of Elan Aqueduct". Geograph Britain and Ireland .
  16. Evison, Mark. "Hidden Valve House". Geograph Britain and Ireland .
  17. Mansergh, James (1901). The Birmingham Waterworks. International Engineering Congress. Glasgow.
  18. Evison, Mark. "Water Pipeline Access Point". Geograph Britain and Ireland .
  19. Evison, Mark. "Concrete Pillar". Geograph Britain and Ireland .
  20. Evison, Mark. "Valve House". Geograph Britain and Ireland .
  21. Evison, Mark. "Elan Valley Aqueduct". Geograph Britain and Ireland .
  22. Evison, Mark. "Elan Valley Aqueduct". Geograph Britain and Ireland .
  23. Jobson, Simon. "Elan Aqueduct siphon at Wolverley Secondary School". Geograph Britain and Ireland .
  24. Jobson, Simon. "Elan Aqueduct siphon". Geograph Britain and Ireland .
  25. Jobson, Simon. "Elan Aqueduct siphon". Geograph Britain and Ireland .
  26. 1 2 Jobson, Simon. "Elan Aqueduct crossing the railway". Geograph Britain and Ireland .
  27. 1 2 Jobson, Simon. "Elan Aqueduct crossing the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal". Geograph Britain and Ireland .
Map all coordinates using: OpenStreetMap