Arnfield Reservoir
The Manchester Corporation Waterworks Act 1847 (10 & 11 Vict. c. cciii) gave permission for the construction of the Woodhead, Arnfield and Hollingworth Reservoirs and an aqueduct to convey waters to a service reservoir at Godley. The Manchester Corporation Waterworks Act 1848 allowed the construction of Torside and Rhodeswood Reservoirs, and an aqueduct to convey the water to the Arnfield reservoir.
The earthen embankment is 17 metres (56 ft) high and the five sections total 953 m (3,127 ft) in length. It was constructed of local clay; a masonry overflow weir protects the reservoir from overtopping. Beneath it lay the trapezoidal Longdendale aqueduct that followed the contour to take water from the reservoirs to the Godley reservoir. Until the 1960s, water was treated by passing it through straining frames at Godley.
In the 1960s, a more sophisticated system of treatment was employed. Treatment plants were built at Arnfield and Godley. At Arnfield, lime, ferric sulphate and polyelectrolyte are added to the water in mixing chambers. This flocculating agent binds together the impurities, which sink and are removed in sedimentation tanks. At Godley, lime is added to remove manganese, and the water is filtered and chlorinated and fed into the distribution network.
Also in the 1960s, part of the Longdendale aqueduct was replaced with 1,200 mm (47 in) diameter pipes. In 1990, the Hollingworth Reservoir (now part of Swallows Wood nature reserve) was decommissioned and levelled and waters from the Ogden Brook fed into Arnfield. In 2004, two sections of the embankment were strengthened.
See also
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References
- ^ The Peak District National Park - Fact Zone 21. Longdendale in the National Park Archived 2006-01-04 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Quayle, Tom (2006), Manchester's Water: The reservoirs in the hills, Stroud, Gloucestershire: Tempus Publishing, ISBN 0-7524-3198-6
Preceded by - |
Longdendale Chain Reservoirs (West to East) |
Succeeded by Bottoms Reservoir |