Altnahinch Dam is a large

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, a ...

located near

Loughguile Loughguile ( ; ), also spelt Loughgiel or Loughgeel, is a village and civil parish in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. Situated 8 miles east of Ballymoney it is within the Causeway Coast and Glens Council area, and is at the edge of the Glens of A ...

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, ) is one of six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and has a population o ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. It is situated on the edge of Slieveanorra Forest in the southern uplands of Glenbush and was constructed in 1967 using stone quarried from the newly founded Corkey Quarry almost 3 miles away. The reservoir is fed from a number of tributaries in the greater Glenbush area, Altnahinch Burn and more famously the

River Bush The River Bush (from the ga, an Bhuais) is a river in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The River Bush is long. The river's source is in the Antrim Hills at 480m. From there the river flows northwest, with a bend at the town of Armoy. It then f ...

itself which flows from the top of Glenbush, through the reservoir and eventually into the sea at

Portballintrae Portballintrae () is a small seaside village in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is four miles east of Portrush and two miles west of the Giant's Causeway. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 734 people, a decline of 10% compared to 19 ...

. A little known fact is that there are 15 road Bridge crossings over the River Bush from it birthplace in Glenbush above the Altnahinch Reservoir and the point where it meets the sea in Bushmills.

Angling

Altnahinch Dam is also known locally as an excellent fishing location as the reservoir is stocked with native

brown trout The brown trout (''Salmo trutta'') is a European species of salmonid fish that has been widely introduced into suitable environments globally. It includes purely freshwater populations, referred to as the riverine ecotype, ''Salmo trutta'' morph ...

and

rainbow trout The rainbow trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss'') is a species of trout native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead (sometimes called "steelhead trout") is an anadromous (sea-run) form of the coasta ...

Incidents

In 2012 it was reported that lamb and cattle carcasses were being dumped close to the dam."Dead lambs dumped near antrim dam"
Belfast Telegraph

References

External links

Civil Parish of Loughgiel
The Glens of Antrim Historical Society
Altnahinch ‘damned’ by illegal fishing
The Ballymoney Chronicle Dams in Northern Ireland Buildings and structures in County Antrim {{Europe-dam-stub