Rivelin Dams

Water provision for the growing city of Sheffield was taken over by the private Sheffield Waterworks Company in 1830. The Rivelin Dams were part of a series of reservoirs subsequently built to the west of the city by the company with the Lower being completed in 1845 and the Upper in 1848. When the company's plans to build the Rivelin Dams were approved, a proviso was inserted into the agreement which stipulated that they must supply 3,210,338 impgal per day of compensation water into the River Rivelin for the benefit of the mill owners and other users further downstream. In the second half of the 19th century this compensation water often had to be provided by letting water enter the…

The Lower reservoir is the larger of the two and has easier public access with a tarmac road giving vehicular access to a small car park at the southern end of the dam wall. Access to the Upper reservoir and the woodland around it is by permit, there is a track with a locked gate which gives access for water board vehicles from the A57 road. The Lower reservoir has a capacity of 175 e6impgal, with a surface area of 12 ha, the dam height is 20 m and its length is approximately 300 m. The Upper reservoir has a capacity of 48.4 e6impgal, with a surface area of 4 ha, the dam height is 12 m with an approximate length of 220 metres. Both the dam walls are faced with stone pitching in the upstream…