The Observer - 04.08.2019

Section:OBS 2N PaGe:5 Edition Date:190804 Edition:01 Zone: Sent at 3/8/2019 18:53 cYanmaGentaYellowblac

• The Observer
  News 04.08.19 5

Thousands of

sandbags line

the streets of

Whaley Bridge

as emergency

services fear yet

more storms over

the weekend.

Photograph by

Leon Neal/Getty

England and Wales have about

2,000 dams and there are around

800 in Scotland. These structures

were built for a variety of reasons:

to make reservoirs that can sup-

ply drinking water to nearby towns

and cities; to fi ll local canals; to help

farms ; and to create places for fi sh-

ing, sailing and watersports.

In the case of Toddbrook’s dam,

it was built in the 1830s to create a

reservoir that would provide water

for the local canal system. It is still

owned by the Canal & River Trust.

All UK reservoirs with a capac-

ity above 25,000 cubic metres must

comply with the Reservoirs Act

and a civil engineer has to

fi le an annual safety report

to the Department for

Environment, Food and

Rural Affairs (Defra). The

Canal & River Trust said the annual

inspection of Toddbrook Reservoir

in November indicated that the dam

was “absolutely fi ne”.

A trust spokesperson added that

the reservoir is also inspected twice

a week and it was during the most

recent visit that the problems affect-

ing Toddbrook were revealed.

Professor Nigel Wright, a civil

engineer and expert in fl ood risk

management, told the BBC yester-

day that the last evacuation asso-

ciated with dam problems in the

UK occurred in 2007, when cracks

appeared in the dam at Ulley

Reservoir , near Rotherham, follow-

ing heavy rain. A new spillway was

later built to replace the original,

which collapsed during the fl oods.

“Since then the government has

insisted that a lot of dams have been

re-analysed to check what the dan-

ger is and come up with plans for

evacuation if necessary,” added

Wright, who is based at Nottingham

Trent University.

her cat, Slippers, but was relieved to

fi nd him alive but distressed. He had

not gone hungry after a neighbour

managed to throw him food through

the letter box. “He was quite upset.

I’ve had to put him in the dark in the

boot to calm him down,” she said.

Engineers said on Friday night they

remained “very concerned” about

the integrity of the dam, despite an

ANALYSIS

Robin McKie

Britain’s 2,800 dams

are inspected regularly,

but how safe are they?

extensive pumping operation that has

reduced water levels in the reservoir.

Gavin Tomlinson, Derbyshire’s

deputy chief fi re offi cer, said yester-

day: “Crews and all agencies have

been working extremely hard through

the night to put in place seven large

12-inch pumps which are now pump-

ing approximately five tonnes of

water a minute out of the reservoir

and into the River Goyt.

“Another fi ve 12-inch pumps will

be constructed throughout the day

and will contribute to the lowering

of the water level. Once all the pumps

are in place we will look to relocate

the 10 high-volume pumps that have

been on site since yesterday.”

Ruth George, Labour MP for High

Peak, is calling on prime minister

Boris Johnson to commission a full

inquiry into the dam damage.

it was built in t

reservoir that w

for the local ca

owned by the

All UK reser

ity above 2 5 ,0 0

comply with

and a c

fi le a

to th

Env

Rura

Note: not to scale. Diagram based on photographs and dam schematics

Foundation

Clay core

Walkway

Wall

Wall

The technology behind the

embankment dam

400 tonnes of aggregate

have been placed to

shore up the reservoir

after Toddbrook’s

concrete spillway was

heavily damaged

Toddbrook reservoir

contains about 1.3 million

tonnes of water

Earth

BELOW

Civil engineer

Nigel Wright

said the last

dam-linked

evacuation

occurred in

2007, again after

heavy rain.

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