![Thegoit](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/16/Thegoit.jpg)
Anglezarke Reservoir is the largest
reservoir
A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation.
Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...
in the
Rivington
Rivington is a village and civil parish of the Borough of Chorley, Lancashire, England, occupying . It is about southeast of Chorley and about northwest of Bolton. Rivington is a rural area consisting primarily of agricultural grazing land, ...
chain to the west of
Anglezarke
Anglezarke is a sparsely populated Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England. It is an agricultural area used for sheep farming, also site of reservoirs that were built to supply water to Liverpool. T ...
in
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
, England. Anglezarke Reservoir has three embankments: the Charnock Embankment, the longest, is long and high, the Knowsley Embankment is long and high and the
Heapey
Heapey is a village and civil parish of the Borough of Chorley, in Lancashire, England. The village is two miles from Chorley and on the western fringe of the West Pennine Moors. In 2001 the population was 955, increasing to 1,001 at the 2011 c ...
Embankment is long and high. It is fed by the
River Yarrow, which has been diverted from its original course which is now covered by the Knowsley Embankment. It served the city of
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
before its current status as a supply mainly for
Wigan
Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...
. The original `Rivington Pike Scheme' was undertaken by Thomas Hawksley between 1850 and 1857 for the
Liverpool Corporation Waterworks
Liverpool Corporation Waterworks and its successors have provided a public water supply and sewerage and sewage treatment services to the city of Liverpool, England. In 1625 water was obtained from a single well and delivered by cart, but as the t ...
. The scheme was to construct five reservoirs and a water treatment works at the south end of Lower Rivington with a pipeline to storage reservoirs at
Prescot
Prescot is a town and civil parish within the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley in Merseyside, England. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, it lies about to the east of Liverpool city centre. At the 2001 Census, the civ ...
. Water from two higher level reservoirs,
Rake Brook and
Lower Roddlesworth, was carried south in `The Goit', a channel connecting them to the reservoirs.
In November 1997, the reservoir was refilled after the 1997 summer heat wave. The water flow was so large that the reservoir required an emergency draw-down. With the water level at a temporary low, there was an opportunity to inspect the
Heapey
Heapey is a village and civil parish of the Borough of Chorley, in Lancashire, England. The village is two miles from Chorley and on the western fringe of the West Pennine Moors. In 2001 the population was 955, increasing to 1,001 at the 2011 c ...
embankment on Moor Road, which had been leaking since the 1960s. The condition of the embankment and surrounding
strata
In geology and related fields, a stratum ( : strata) is a layer of rock or sediment characterized by certain lithologic properties or attributes that distinguish it from adjacent layers from which it is separated by visible surfaces known as ei ...
were such that a phased
grout
Grout is a dense fluid which hardens to fill gaps or used as reinforcement in existing structures. Grout is generally a mixture of water, cement and sand, and is employed in pressure grouting, embedding rebar in masonry walls, connecting secti ...
ing operation was required to remedy the leakage. The reservoir was refilled, but was still leaking. After a second grouting and refill operation, the embankment was deemed leak-free.
It appears that the original cause of the leak was an 18-inch cast iron draw-off pipe which supplied
White Brook
White Brook is a tributary of Mehoopany Creek in Wyoming County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is approximately long and flows through North Branch Township and Forkston Township, in Wyoming County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. ...
to the north of the embankment. The trench for the pipe was cut much deeper than needed, through a
glacial
A glacial period (alternatively glacial or glaciation) is an interval of time (thousands of years) within an ice age that is marked by colder temperatures and glacier advances. Interglacials, on the other hand, are periods of warmer climate betw ...
meltwater channel. However, shutting the pipe off in the 1970s failed to remedy the situation.
![Watermans Cottage](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ed/Watermans_Cottage.jpg)
Waterman's Cottage was built by Liverpool Corporation on the west bank of the reservoir. The cottage is a
Tudor-style structure also known as Heapey Cottage. It was occupied by Denis and Anne Oakden in the 1940s. Denis worked for the Water Authority and moved to the property after several years in Porch Cottages,
White Coppice
White Coppice is a hamlet near Chorley, Lancashire, England. It was the most populated part of the township of Anglezarke in the 19th century. Close to the settlement in the early 19th century were quarries and small coal mines. The hamlet lies ...
.
To the east of the reservoir is the small
High Bullough reservoir
High Bullough Reservoir is the oldest of all the reservoirs in the Rivington chain, having been authorised by an Act of Parliament obtained in 1846 and completed in 1850. It was built for Chorley Waterworks by the engineer John Frederick Bateman ...
and the Anglezarke Moors,
Upper Rivington Reservoir
Upper Rivington Reservoir is situated centrally in the Rivington chain of reservoirs, on the West Pennine Moors in Lancashire, England, between Rivington and Anglezarke. The engineer for the Rivington reservoirs was Thomas Hawksley and construc ...
is to the south and
Healey Nab
Healey Nab or "The Nab" is an area of countryside owned partly by Lancashire County Council containing rolling hills, moorland, woodland, ponds and streams to the east of Chorley, Lancashire, between the M61 and the West Pennine Moors. To its ...
to the north-west. The area is now a wildlife haven, with a Woodland Trail which links to High Bullough reservoir.
Notes and references
{{Authority control
West Pennine Moors
Drinking water reservoirs in England
Tourist attractions in Chorley
Reservoirs in Lancashire