Kier is undertaking the £15m restoration of Toddbrook Reservoir in Whaley Bridge for the Canal & River Trust.
The project is expected to take around two years to complete, with the reservoir due to reopen in late 2024.
It was Kier that initially came to the dam’s rescue when catastrophe threatened. Whaley Bridge residents were evacuated from parts of the town on 1st August 2019 after the dam was found to be leaking after heavy rain. The dam auxiliary spillway was damaged. As the failure got slowly worse, emergency services set about emptying the reservoir to prevent catastrophic collapse and destruction in town.
From the first day, 55 employees from Kier and its supply chain were among those on the scene at Whaley Bridge, aiding the Canal & River Trust with its rescue and providing supplies. By 6th August, water levels had been reduced by 10.7 metres, resulting in the situation being declared safe and residents allowed back home.
As part of the permanent works, Kier will now construct a new overflow spillway structure to the north of the dam. This involves building a side channel weir, ‘tumble bay’, spillway channel and stilling basin which will link into the existing bypass channel flowing into the River Goyt in the park.
To make way for the new spillway works, the local sailing club is being relocated behind the new tumble bay. The clubhouse has been dismantled and will be replaced by a new one with slipway, boat storage and car park.
The final phase of the project will be to remove the concrete panels from the 1970s-built overflow spillway, damaged in August 2019. The dam will then be repaired and grassed over. This will be followed by works to the inlet cascade, at the far end of the reservoir, to increase resilience to high flows from Todd Brook stream.
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