Drift Reservoir is a
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
Cornwall
Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...
, England, UK, just north of the village of
Drift
Drift or Drifts may refer to:
Geography
* Drift or ford (crossing) of a river
* Drift, Kentucky, unincorporated community in the United States
* In Cornwall, England:
** Drift, Cornwall, village
** Drift Reservoir, associated with the village
...
and west of
Penzance
Penzance ( ; kw, Pennsans) is a town, civil parish and port in the Penwith district of Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is the most westerly major town in Cornwall and is about west-southwest of Plymouth and west-southwest of London. Situated ...
. The reservoir is long and covers . The
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 ...
is at the southern end of the reservoir, and the northern end, splits into north-western and north-eastern shallow arms. It is currently managed, jointly by the South West Lakes Trust and
South West Water
South West Water provides drinking water and waste water services throughout Devon and Cornwall and in small areas of Dorset and Somerset. South West Water was created in 1989 with the privatisation of the water industry. It was preceded by the ...
. There is public access to the dam and parking area only.
History
The reservoir was first given statutory approval in 1938 (under the Penzance Corporation Act 1938) but construction was deferred until after
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. A joint water scheme was agreed by the Penzance and
St Ives Borough Councils to provide water for the Land's End peninsula in 1951 and work finally commenced on 1 March 1959 by
Robert Alpine and Sons. The original design had to be amended during excavations when rotting granite was found. It was completed for the West Cornwall Water Board in 1961. It is still the principal source of water for the
Penwith area.
The valley of Trewidden Vean, now known as the Lost Valley, was evacuated starting in 1938, with the last family leaving in 1961. The valley was cleared of trees before building started and most of Nanquitho Farm and farmhouse is now under water.
[ The water level in the reservoir sometimes drops low enough to reveal the remains of houses and roads; this happened in the 1970s, the 1990s, and in the summer of 2018.
]
Natural history and ecology
Initially, in 1962, the reservoir was stocked with 8000 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 ...
(''Oncorhynchus mykiss'') from Loch Leven trout fisheries and many buckets of shrimps
Shrimp are crustaceans (a form of shellfish) with elongated bodies and a primarily swimming mode of locomotion – most commonly Caridea and Dendrobranchiata of the decapod order, although some crustaceans outside of this order are refer ...
from Stithians Reservoir. At the beginning of the 21st-century there was over eighty mute swan
The mute swan (''Cygnus olor'') is a species of swan and a member of the waterfowl family Anatidae. It is native to much of Eurosiberia, and (as a rare winter visitor) the far north of Africa. It is an introduced species in North America, home ...
(''Cygnus olor'') and many Canada goose
The Canada goose (''Branta canadensis''), or Canadian goose, is a large wild goose with a black head and neck, white cheeks, white under its chin, and a brown body. It is native to the arctic and temperate regions of North America, and it is o ...
(''Branta canadensis'') due to feeding them out of date items from a local bakery. At the request of the Bolitho Estate feeding was stopped to protect the fishery and water quality.[
Due to its geographical location close to the sea, plus good areas of shallow water and exposed mud, it is an important landfall for migrating waders.] The north-west arm of the reservoir is managed by the Cornwall Birdwatching and Preservation Society (CBWPS) and the bird hide
A bird hide (blind or bird blind in North America) is a shelter, often camouflaged, that is used to observe wildlife, especially birds, at close quarters. Although hides or hunting blinds were once built chiefly as hunting aids, they are now commo ...
, due to insurance considerations, is open to members of that organisation only. A successful bird reserve needs an area that is free of continuous disturbance and in 2001 a no fishing area was established in the north-west arm, along with a reed bed of ''Phragmites australis
''Phragmites australis'', known as the common reed, is a species of plant. It is a broadly distributed wetland grass that can grow up to tall.
Description
''Phragmites australis'' commonly forms extensive stands (known as reed beds), which may ...
''. A year later it was reported that the no fishing area had helped breeding birds which included common coot
The Eurasian coot (''Fulica atra''), also known as the common coot, or Australian coot, is a member of the rail and crake bird family, the Rallidae. It is found in Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand and parts of North Africa. It has a slaty-bla ...
(''Fulica atra''), mallard
The mallard () or wild duck (''Anas platyrhynchos'') is a dabbling duck that breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Eurasia, and North Africa, and has been introduced to New Zealand, Australia, Peru, Brazil, Uruguay, Arge ...
(''Anas platyrhynchos'') and mute swan.
Although generally hosting only small numbers of birds (244 species recorded), the reservoir has attracted a considerable number of North American vagrant
Vagrancy is the condition of homelessness without regular employment or income. Vagrants (also known as bums, vagabonds, rogues, tramps or drifters) usually live in poverty and support themselves by begging, scavenging, petty theft, temporar ...
shorebird
245px, A flock of Dunlins and Red knots">Red_knot.html" ;"title="Dunlins and Red knot">Dunlins and Red knots
Waders or shorebirds are birds of the order Charadriiformes commonly found wikt:wade#Etymology 1, wading along shorelines and mudflat ...
s and wildfowl
The Anatidae are the biological family of water birds that includes ducks, geese, and swans. The family has a cosmopolitan distribution, occurring on all the world's continents except Antarctica. These birds are adapted for swimming, floating on ...
, including a number of lesser scaup
The lesser scaup (''Aythya affinis'') is a small North American diving duck that migrates south as far as Central America in winter. It is colloquially known as the little bluebill or broadbill because of its distinctive blue bill. The origin of ...
(''Aythya affinis''). In May 2016 a Dalmatian pelican
The Dalmatian pelican (''Pelecanus crispus'') is the largest member of the pelican family, and perhaps the world's largest freshwater bird, although rivaled in weight and length by the largest swans. They are elegant soaring birds, with wingspan ...
(''Pelecanus crispus'') was seen in western Cornwall and was frequently seen on the reservoir. There are 5,000 year old fossil remains of this species from Somerset
( en, All The People of Somerset)
, locator_map =
, coordinates =
, region = South West England
, established_date = Ancient
, established_by =
, preceded_by =
, origin =
, lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset
, lord_ ...
and this bird could be the first recorded in Britain since then. At the same time as the Dalmatian pelican, a cackling goose, (''Branta hutchinsii''), which is a scarce but regular North American vagrant was at the reservoir.
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 ...
and blue trout
Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when ob ...
are released in the reservoir for trout fishing along with the 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 ...
(''Salmo trutta''). The Cornish open float tube competition is held annually in May.
See also
* List of reservoirs and dams in the United Kingdom
This is a list of dams and reservoirs in the United Kingdom.
England Buckinghamshire
* Foxcote Reservoir, north of Buckingham
*Weston Turville Reservoir, between Weston Turville and Wendover
Cambridgeshire
* Grafham Water
Cheshire
* Bollinh ...
References
External links
*
{{authority control
Energy infrastructure completed in 1961
Drinking water reservoirs in England
Nature reserves in Cornwall
Penwith
Reservoirs in Cornwall