Elan Valley Reservoirs – Wales





Elan Valley Reservoirs – Wales

In the 1890s, the Elan Valley was identified as a water source for the rapidly-expanding city of Birmingham in England, some 70 miles away. In 1892 the Water Act was passed and over 45,000 acres of land was acquired and the process of clearing the valleys began.. The area was thinly populated, but the homes of over 100 people as well as their church, school and other buildings in the community were lost to the flooding.

The valley was quickly transformed.. A branch line, the Elan Valley Railway with over 33 miles of track was built into the valley from Rhayader to carry workers and supplies. This track is now a popular path/cycle route. A temporary village for the 50,000 workers was also erected.

The dams were built in two phases. In 1904 King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra opened the Elan dam and water started flowing along the 188km of pipeline to Birmingham. The Claerwen dam was delayed due to the First World War so work didn’t begin until 1946. Engineering advancements required the building of just one large dam rather than 3 smaller ones. They built this of concrete but its stone faced to harmonise with the older dams..

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