DALE DIKE RESERVOIR

'Dale Dike Reservoir' or 'Dale Dyke Reservoir' (), famous for causing the Great Sheffield Flood, is in the north-east Peak District, in South Yorkshire, England, a mile (1.6 km) west of Bradfield, eight miles (13 km) from Sheffield, on the Dale Dike, a tributary of the River Loxley.
Along with three other reservoirs around the village of Bradfield - Agden, Damflask and Strines - it was constructed between 1859 and 1864 by the Sheffield Waterworks Company to guarantee a supply of water to power the mills downstream and to supply drinking water to the growing population of Sheffield.^[1]

Contents

Sheffield Flood

The new dam

References

Sheffield Flood

In 1864 the newly-built dam failed, causing the Great Sheffield Flood, which caused massive damage downstream along the Loxley and Don and through the centre of Sheffield. There were hundreds of fatalities.^[2]

The new dam

The dam was rebuilt in 1875 and is still in use, holding 446 million gallons (1,790 million litres) of water, now used exclusively for domestic purposes.^[3] It is owned by Yorkshire Water, part of the Kelda Group.

References

1. http://www.mick-armitage.staff.shef.ac.uk/sheffield/book/floodatsheffield.txt
2. http://www.bradfieldparish.org.uk/history.htm
3. http://www.yorkshirewater.com/?OBH=249&ID=274