Blackmoorfoot Reservoir

Blackmoorfoot Reservoir
Blackmoorfoot reservoir
LocationBlackmoorfoot, West Yorkshire, England
Coordinates53°36′36″N 1°51′07″W / 53.610°N 1.852°W / 53.610; -1.852
TypeReservoir
Catchment area130 hectares (320 acres)
Managing agencyYorkshire Water
DesignationDrinking water protected area (UKGB30431382)
Built1871–1876
First flooded18 November 1874
Surface area38 hectares (94 acres)
Average depth7.8 metres (26 ft)
Water volume2,962,139 cubic metres (104,607,000 cu ft)
Surface elevation253 metres (830 ft)
WebsiteOfficial webpage
References[1]
Location
Interactive map of Blackmoorfoot Reservoir

Blackmoorfoot Reservoir is a freshwater supply reservoir located on moorland 4 miles (6.4 km) south of Huddersfield in West Yorkshire, England. The reservoir lies at an altitude of 253 metres (830 ft) above sea level, and is fed by catchwaters dug into the moorland to the south-west of the reservoir. It was built in the 1870s, and is now owned by Yorkshire Water.

History

The reservoir is 4 miles (6.4 km) south-west of Huddersfield, and lies at an altitude of 253 metres (830 ft), draining an area of 130 hectares (320 acres), with water being fed into the reservoir by catchwaters cut into the moorland.[2][3] The reservoir contains 2,962,139 cubic metres (104,607,000 cu ft) of water, covers an area of 38 hectares (94 acres), and has an average depth of 7.8 metres (26 ft).[4] The name is first recorded on Ordnance Survey maps in the early 19th century, deriving from Old Norse blæc mōr fōt.[5]

The reservoir was approved under the Huddersfield Water Act 1869 (32 & 33 Vict. c. cx)[i] although it lists the reservoir as Black Moor Foot.[7] As built, the reservoir infrastructure also included 8.9 kilometres (5.5 mi) of conduits (catchwaters) across the moorland carrying water into the reservoir.[8] This consists of two conduits, the Meltham Catchwater and the Lower Catchwater, which drain water from the surrounding moorland, some of which has run through old colliery workings.[9][10] The reservoir was built with two embankments; one on the north side, and one on the south side. The north embankment was built to be 780 metres (850 yd) long, 120 metres (400 ft) wide at the base, and 21 metres (70 ft) high. The south side was built at 460 metres (500 yd) long, 73 metres (240 ft) wide at the base, and 12 metres (40 ft) high.[11] The two embankments have a puddle clay core (the clay was dug out of the earth just to the south west of the dam), with first flooding commencing in November 1874;[1][12] the structure was completed in 1876,[9] with the reservoir being full and overflowing for the first time on 20 December 1876.[13] The reservoir cost £260,000 and was one of many schemes undertaken in the hills to the south and west of Huddersfield during the 19th and 20th centuries, including dams in the Wessenden Valley, Deerness and Digley.[14][15]

Blackmoorfoot Reservoir was built to accommodate the water requirements of the expanding Huddersfield district in the late 19th century, but it now has a dual purpose; to compensate river flow, and storage of water to provide into the drinking water supply.[16][17] A water treatment works was installed at the reservoir in 1989,[18] and the site is designated as a drinking water protected area.[3]

Since ornithological records were first kept in 1956, the site has noted over 200 different types of bird visitors, including a pomarine skua, and a terek sandpiper, a Russian bird, which is believed to have been blown off course when migrating.[19][20]

During the 20th century, an old tramcar from Manchester was used as a summerhouse by the reservoir.[21] The name of the reservoir was used by the Church of England to name one its deaneries when the parishes around Huddersfield were re-organised in 1969.[22] A public path runs along the eastern side of the reservoir; this is promoted by Yorkshire Water, the reservoir's owners.[23]

Rainfall

Rainfall data has been collected almost continuously at Blackmoorfoot since 1873,[ii] and is the oldest data for rainfall in the Ouse catchment.

Rainfall at Blackmoorfoot - yearly average, 1968 to 1991
Year Rainfall[a] Ref Year Rainfall[b] Ref
1968 1,424 millimetres (56.1 in) [25] 1980 No data
1969 1,075 millimetres (42.3 in) [26] 1981 No data
1970 1,275 millimetres (50.2 in) [27] 1982 1,336 millimetres (52.6 in)[a] [28]
1971 1,010 millimetres (40 in) [29] 1983 1,193 millimetres (47.0 in) [30]
1972 1,146 millimetres (45.1 in) [31] 1984 1,057 millimetres (41.6 in) [32]
1973 1,013 millimetres (39.9 in) [33] 1985 926 millimetres (36.5 in) [34]
1974 1,262 millimetres (49.7 in) [35] 1986 1,338 millimetres (52.7 in) [36]
1975 895 millimetres (35.2 in) [37] 1987 1,037 millimetres (40.8 in) [38]
1976 1,090 millimetres (43 in) [39] 1988 1,283 millimetres (50.5 in) [40]
1977 1,395 millimetres (54.9 in) [41] 1989 1,010 millimetres (40 in) [42]
1978 1,115 millimetres (43.9 in) [43] 1990 1,140 millimetres (45 in) [44]
1979 1,505 millimetres (59.3 in) [45] 1991 984 millimetres (38.7 in) [46]
  1. ^ a b Blackmoorfoot Resr No. 1 at SE096130, 244 metres (801 ft) above sea level.
  2. ^ Blackmoorfoot Resr No. 2 at SE099131, 243 metres (797 ft) above sea level.

Notes

  1. ^ An Act for transferring to the Corporation of Huddersfield the undertaking of the commissioners for the Huddersfield Waterworks and for empowering the corporation to construct additional waterworks and to supply water within extended limits and for other purposes.[6]
  2. ^ The rainfall statistics for 1980 and 1981 are not available; it is knot known if this is an interruption in the data collection, or whether the statistics are simply not available.[24]

References

  1. ^ a b Bowtell 1979, p. B23.
  2. ^ Sykes, Daniel Frederick Edward (1898). The history of Huddersfield and its vicinity. Huddersfield: Advertiser Press. p. 403. OCLC 5532713.
  3. ^ a b "Blackmoorfoot Reservoir | Catchment Data Explorer | Catchment Data Explorer". environment.data.gov.uk. Retrieved 31 October 2024.
  4. ^ "Blackmoorfoot Reservoir Water body ID 31382". uklakes.ceh.ac.uk. Retrieved 21 September 2025.
  5. ^ Smith, A. H. (1986). The place-names of the West Riding of Yorkshire volume II; Osgoldcross and Agbrigg Wapentakes. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 283. OCLC 615109017.
  6. ^ "The Huddersfield Water Act 1869". Local and Personal Laws (Chapter 110). London: HMSO: 1. 1869. OCLC 426290874.
  7. ^ "The Huddersfield Water Act 1869". Local and Personal Laws (Chapter 110). London: HMSO: 9. 1869. OCLC 426290874.
  8. ^ The annual report to the urban sanitary authority of the County Borough of Huddersfield 1910. Huddersfield: Huddersfield County Borough Council. 1910. p. 55. OCLC 1045339283.
  9. ^ a b Bowtell 1979, p. B11.
  10. ^ Crookes, William (1886). Report on the action of water on lead. London: Wertheimer, Lea & Co. p. 6. OCLC 42422515.
  11. ^ The annual report to the urban sanitary authority of the County Borough of Huddersfield 1910. Huddersfield: Huddersfield County Borough Council. 1910. p. 56. OCLC 1045339283.
  12. ^ Reeves, G. M.; Sims, I.; Cripps, J. C., eds. (2006). "12: Specialized applications". Clay materials used in construction. London: The Geological Society. p. 380. ISBN 186239184X.
  13. ^ Bowtell 1979, p. B12.
  14. ^ "Blackmoorfoot Reservoir (2020) |". waterprojectsonline.com. Retrieved 28 September 2025.
  15. ^ Peters, Anthea; Booth, Newman (August 2016). "Scammonden dam: A unique structure". Dams and Reservoirs. 26 (2): 99. doi:10.1680/jdare.16.00030.
  16. ^ Freethy, Ron (1992). Huddersfield and Summer Wine country. Clapham: Dalesman Books. p. 6. ISBN 1855680408.
  17. ^ "Aire and Calder Abstraction Licensing Strategy" (PDF). assets.publishing.service.gov.uk. February 2013. p. 19. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
  18. ^ "Commons Chamber - Hansard - UK Parliament". hansard.parliament.uk. Retrieved 28 September 2025.
  19. ^ Addy, Beverley (5 March 1997). "Watching the birdie at Blackmoorfoot". The Huddersfield Examiner. No. 43, 976. p. 2.
  20. ^ "Reservoir judged bird haven". The Huddersfield Examiner. No. 44, 621. 3 April 1999. p. 6.
  21. ^ Bairstow, Martin (1993). The East Lancashire Railway : a history of the railways around Bury and guide to the preserved line. Halifax: Bairstow. p. 80. ISBN 1871944074.
  22. ^ Chandler, Andrew (2009) [2006]. "8: Reforming the parish". The Church of England in the twentieth century. Woodbridge: Boydell Press. p. 211. ISBN 978-1-84383-501-1.
  23. ^ "Yorkshire Water - Blackmoorfoot walk". yorkshirewater.com. Retrieved 31 October 2024.
  24. ^ Longfield, Sean Anthony (1998). River response to recent environmental change in the Yorkshire Ouse basin, northern England (Thesis). Leeds: University of Leeds. p. 155. OCLC 557464879.
  25. ^ Rainfall 1968. Bracknell: Meteorological Office. 1974. p. 13. ISBN 0-11-400279-7.
  26. ^ Rainfall 1969. Bracknell: Meteorological Office. 1979. p. 8. ISBN 0-86180-021-4.
  27. ^ Rainfall 1970. Bracknell: Meteorological Office. 1979. p. 8. ISBN 0-86180-022-2.
  28. ^ Monthly and annual totals of rainfall 1982 for the United Kingdom. Bracknell: Meteorological Office. 1985. p. 7. ISBN 0-86180-192-X.
  29. ^ Rainfall 1971. Bracknell: Meteorological Office. 1980. p. 8. ISBN 0-86180-026-5.
  30. ^ Monthly and annual totals of rainfall 1983 for the United Kingdom. Bracknell: Meteorological Office. 1985. p. 7. ISBN 0-86180-205-5.
  31. ^ Rainfall 1972. Bracknell: Meteorological Office. 1980. p. 8. ISBN 0-86180-046-X.
  32. ^ Monthly and annual totals of rainfall 1984 for the United Kingdom. Bracknell: Meteorological Office. 1986. p. 7. ISBN 0-86180-209-8.
  33. ^ Rainfall 1973. Bracknell: Meteorological Office. 1981. p. 9. ISBN 0-86180-047-8.
  34. ^ Monthly and annual totals of rainfall 1985 for the United Kingdom. Bracknell: Meteorological Office. 1988. p. 6. ISBN 0-86180-229-2.
  35. ^ Monthly and annual totals of rainfall 1974 for the United Kingdom. Bracknell: Meteorological Office. 1981. p. 8. ISBN 0-86180-060-5.
  36. ^ Monthly and annual totals of rainfall 1986 for the United Kingdom. Bracknell: Meteorological Office. 1988. p. 6. ISBN 0-86180-242-X.
  37. ^ Monthly and annual totals of rainfall 1975 for the United Kingdom. Bracknell: Meteorological Office. 1981. p. 8. ISBN 0-86180-067-2.
  38. ^ Monthly and annual totals of rainfall 1987 for the United Kingdom. Bracknell: Meteorological Office. 1989. p. 18. ISBN 0-86180-253-5.
  39. ^ Monthly and annual totals of rainfall 1976 for the United Kingdom. Bracknell: Meteorological Office. 1982. p. 8. ISBN 0-86180-073-7.
  40. ^ Monthly and annual totals of rainfall 1988 for the United Kingdom. Bracknell: Meteorological Office. 1989. p. 18. ISBN 0-86180-259-4.
  41. ^ Monthly and annual totals of rainfall 1977 for the United Kingdom. Bracknell: Meteorological Office. 1982. p. 7. ISBN 0-86180-076-1.
  42. ^ Monthly and annual totals of rainfall 1989 for the United Kingdom. Bracknell: Meteorological Office. 1991. p. 28. ISBN 0-86180-274-8.
  43. ^ Monthly and annual totals of rainfall 1978 for the United Kingdom. Bracknell: Meteorological Office. 1982. p. 7. ISBN 0-86180-143-1.
  44. ^ Monthly and annual totals of rainfall 1990 for the United Kingdom. Bracknell: Meteorological Office. 1991. p. 26. ISBN 0-86180-291-8.
  45. ^ Monthly and annual totals of rainfall 1979 for the United Kingdom. Bracknell: Meteorological Office. 1983. p. 7. ISBN 0-86180-146-6.
  46. ^ Monthly and annual totals of rainfall 1990 for the United Kingdom. Bracknell: Meteorological Office. 1993. p. 28. ISBN 0-86180-298-5.

Sources

  • Bowtell, Harold D. (1979). Reservoir railways of the Pennines. Headington: The Oakwood Press. ISBN 0-85361-242-0.
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