Kielder Water
Kielder Water
Kielder water is a manmade reservoir in the UK . Located in Northumberland, in the Cheviot Hills of NE England, it measures 10.86 square kilometres (4.19 sq mi) and was completed in 1981. The lake holds 200,000 million litres and was constructed over a 6 year period to satisfy an expected rise in demand for water to support a growing UK industrial economy. Its primary inflows are River North Tyne, Kielder Burn and Lewis Burn
Economic impacts: The reservoir earns a lot of money from tourism as there are many facilities on and around the reservoir such as fishing, sailing and bird watching. A visitors study showed that 6 million pounds is raised through tourism to Kielder every year.
The lake is also home to the England’s largest hydroelectric plant and since the end of 2005, RWE Npower Renewables has the rights to sell the electricity generated by the plant.
Environmental impacts: The site includes 8 sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) , covering 7,800ha and containing unique plants and animals. Kielder is one of the last places for red squirrels in England, holding 50% of England’s red squirrel population.
Kielder is now an important wildlife sanctuary for endangered species that are currently in decline such as the black grouse. However, 2,700 acres of farmland and habitat was lost as a result of the scheme. Kielder water, since 2009 is also home to ospreys again for the first time in over 200 years.
Social Impacts: The lake is 11km long and stores nearly 200,000million litres of water – this helps in times of water shortages. This means that while the south of England is often forced to implement drought strategies and hosepipe bans, north east England enjoys plentiful water supplies. The lake is also topped up with underwater springs. In this way, the lake is sustainable and will prosper for many more generations.
58 families were displaced from their homes by the dam, their houses disappearing beneath the lake that formed.
There
Kielder water is a manmade reservoir in the UK . Located in Northumberland, in the Cheviot Hills of NE England, it measures 10.86 square kilometres (4.19 sq mi) and was completed in 1981. The lake holds 200,000 million litres and was constructed over a 6 year period to satisfy an expected rise in demand for water to support a growing UK industrial economy. Its primary inflows are River North Tyne, Kielder Burn and Lewis Burn
Economic impacts: The reservoir earns a lot of money from tourism as there are many facilities on and around the reservoir such as fishing, sailing and bird watching. A visitors study showed that 6 million pounds is raised through tourism to Kielder every year.
The lake is also home to the England’s largest hydroelectric plant and since the end of 2005, RWE Npower Renewables has the rights to sell the electricity generated by the plant.
Environmental impacts: The site includes 8 sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) , covering 7,800ha and containing unique plants and animals. Kielder is one of the last places for red squirrels in England, holding 50% of England’s red squirrel population.
Kielder is now an important wildlife sanctuary for endangered species that are currently in decline such as the black grouse. However, 2,700 acres of farmland and habitat was lost as a result of the scheme. Kielder water, since 2009 is also home to ospreys again for the first time in over 200 years.
Social Impacts: The lake is 11km long and stores nearly 200,000million litres of water – this helps in times of water shortages. This means that while the south of England is often forced to implement drought strategies and hosepipe bans, north east England enjoys plentiful water supplies. The lake is also topped up with underwater springs. In this way, the lake is sustainable and will prosper for many more generations.
58 families were displaced from their homes by the dam, their houses disappearing beneath the lake that formed.
There