The Reservoir
Blithfield Reservoir
Blithfield Reservoir is a man-made reservoir that was opened on Tuesday 27 October 1953 by Her Royal Highness Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother.
The reservoir was created by building a dam across a shallow valley to block the River Blithe which ran through the bottom of the valley. This blockage caused the river water to be impounded in the valley and so the reservoir is described as an "Impounding Reservoir". To maintain the flow of the river downstream of the reservoir, the design of the dam allowed water to be passed through it for release into the downstream river channel. This design ensured the continuation of the River Blithe to its junction with the River Trent at Nethertown.
The requirement for the reservoir arose from the increasing need for people to have a clean drinking water supply to their homes. The project was originally planned to commence in 1939 but unfortunately had to be delayed owing to the onset of World War 2, hence, the final land aquisitions took place in 1947 and work on the reservoir commenced.
It took six years and around 495 workers to complete the construction of the reservoir and its associated structures.
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