150 years of dams
Our oldest dam is the 1861 construction at Tottiford, Devon and 20 further dams were built across our region in the following 150 years.
Our oldest dam is the 1861 construction at Tottiford, Devon and 20 further dams were built across our region in the following 150 years.
Many communities began with small river valley dams but as the management of water became more regional, the authorities needed larger constructions and more water resources.
Many of these reservoirs represented major civil engineering projects in often remote locations, such as the stunning multiple buttresses at Wimbleball on Exmoor.
|
Name |
Completed |
Type |
Net Capacity (Ml)* |
|
Roadford |
1989 |
Embankment |
34500 |
|
Colliford |
1983 |
China clay waste embankment |
28540 |
|
Wimbleball |
1979 |
Concrete buttress |
21320 |
|
Stithians |
1965 |
Concrete gravity and arch |
4967 |
|
Burrator |
1898 |
Masonry gravity |
4210 |
|
Siblyback |
1968 |
Concrete gravity |
3182 |
|
Meldon |
1972 |
Concrete gravity |
3020 |
|
Park |
N/A |
Former china clay quarry |
2183 |
|
Fernworthy |
1942 |
Masonry gravity |
1765 |
|
Wistlandpound |
1956 |
Earth embankment |
1550 |
|
Upper Tamar Lake |
1975 |
Concrete gravity |
1477 |
|
Avon |
1957 |
Concrete gravity |
1313 |
|
Argal |
1941 |
Concrete gravity |
1302 |
|
Drift |
1961 |
Concrete gravity |
1200 |
|
Crowdy |
1973 |
Concrete gravity |
1022 |
|
Kennick |
1884 |
Earth embankment |
848 |
|
Stannon |
N/A |
Former china clay quarry |
840 |
|
Venford |
1907 |
Masonry gravity |
740 |
|
Trenchford |
1907 |
Earth embankment |
707 |
|
Tottiford |
1861 |
Earth embankment |
456 |
|
College |
1906 |
Earth embankment |
246 |
*Ml is an abbreviation for one megalitre or one million litres. (220,000 gallons).