Description and History of Site:-
Reservoir, built on the upper reaches of the River Don. Original reservoir, Dunford Bridge, completed in 1857 for the Dewsbury and Heckmondwike water works. Used originally as a potable water supply for those towns, and as a compensation reservoir for the River Don. In 1970, it was decided to increase the size of the reservoir and a new dam built between 1972 and 1975. The reservoir was renamed as Winscar, and completely submerged the earlier dam and reservoir.

This was the first major dam in England using an asphaltic concrete membrane as the sealing mechanism. Significant seepage was detected through the dam in 2001 and the reservoir drained to identify the source of the problem. It was discovered that the state of the membrane was generally in an unsatisfactory condition and that rather than simply patching the identified leaks the whole membrane would be refurbished.

Further Reading and References:-
http://www.waterprojectsonline.com/case_studies/2002/Yorkshire_Winscar_2002.pdf

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Key Words :- reservoir dam potable water compensation bituminous concrete membrane

Address :- Don View, Dunford Bridge, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, S36 4TF
Grid Ref :- SE 15384 02434
Co-ordinates :- Lat 53.518358 , Long -1.769454
Local Authority :- Sheffield City Council
Pre 1974 County :- Yorkshire - West Riding
Site Status :- Site extant - Protected status unknown
Site Condition :- Operational site, in use for original purpose
Site Dates :- 1857/1972 -
Record Date :- 12 September 2019

Copyright :- cc-by-nc-sa 4.0 © Nick Nelson