Grafham Water is an biological

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...

(SSSI) north of Perry, Huntingdonshire. It was designated an SSSI in 1986. It 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 ...

with a circumference of about , is deep at maximum, and is the eighth largest reservoir in England by volume and the third largest by area at . An area of at the western end is a nature reserve managed by the

Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire The Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire (WTBCN) is a registered charity which manages 126 nature reserves covering . It has over 35,000 members, and 95% of people in Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshi ...

. The lake was created by building an earth and concrete

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 ...

, constructed by W. & C. French in 1965, and water is extracted and processed at an adjacent

Anglian Water Anglian Water is a water company that operates in the East of England. It was formed in 1989 under the partial Water privatisation in England and Wales, privatisation of the water industry. It provides water supply, sewerage and sewage treatment ...

treatment plant before being piped away as

drinking water Drinking water is water that is used in drink or food preparation; potable water is water that is safe to be used as drinking water. The amount of drinking water required to maintain good health varies, and depends on physical activity level, a ...

. It was shown from the air, before it opened, in '

Look at Life (film series) ''Look at Life'' was a regular British series of short documentary films of which over 500 were produced between 1959 and 1969 by the Special Features Division of the Rank Organisation for screening in their Odeon and Gaumont cinemas. The films ...

' ' 1965 episode, 'Will Taps Run Dry ?', narrated by

Tim Turner Tim Turner (7 September 1924 – 1987) was an English people, English actor who performed during the 1950s and 1960s. Life and career He was born John Freeman Turner in Bexley, Kent. Before becoming a film and television actor, Turner was a ...

. The reservoir was immediately colonised by wildlife and a nature reserve was created at the western side of the reservoir. The nature reserve contains semi-natural ancient (at least 400 years old) woodlands and more recent plantation woodlands, grasslands and wetland habitats such as reedbeds, willow and open water. The reservoir has nationally important numbers of wintering

great crested grebe The great crested grebe (''Podiceps cristatus'') is a member of the grebe family of water birds noted for its elaborate mating display. Taxonomy The great crested grebe was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in t ...

tufted ducks The tufted duck or tufted pochard (''Aythya fuligula'') is a small diving duck with a population of close to one million birds, found in northern Eurasia. The scientific name is derived from Ancient Greek '' aithuia'', an unidentified seabird ment ...

and

coots Coots are medium-sized water birds that are members of the rail family, Rallidae. They constitute the genus ''Fulica'', the name being the Latin term for "coot". Coots have predominantly black plumage, and—unlike many rails—they are usually ...

, and of moulting

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 ...

s in late summer. A pond has a population of the nationally uncommon warty newt. Water is obtained by pumping water from the

River Great Ouse The River Great Ouse () is a river in England, the longest of several British rivers called "Ouse". From Syresham in Northamptonshire, the Great Ouse flows through Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Norfolk to drain into the Wa ...

nearby. There are two pumping stations associated with the reservoir. One is located just behind the dam, the other at

Offord Cluny Offord Cluny is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Offord Cluny and Offord D'Arcy. It is north of St Neots and south-west of Huntingdon. Offord Cluny is in Huntingdonshire which is a non-metropolitan district of Cambridges ...

alongside the River Great Ouse. At times of high potential flood risk, Grafham Water treatment works can increase the amount of water it takes up to maximum capacity to help reduce the risk of flooding along the river. As of January 2011, it was the only site in England, and the first in the UK, to harbour the invasive

killer shrimp ''Dikerogammarus villosus'', also known as the killer shrimp, is a species of amphipod crustacean native to the Ponto-Caspian region of eastern Europe, but which has become invasive across the western part of the continent. In the areas it has ...

(Dikerogammarus villosus). Grafham Water is popular for a range of leisure activities including sailing, fly fishing and cycling. In 2019, a live-action gaming centre, Rumble Live Action Gaming, was opened in the woodland arenas on the edge of the reservoir.

References

External links

Wildlife Trust Reserve
{{authority control Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Cambridgeshire Drinking water reservoirs in England Nature reserves in Cambridgeshire Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire reserves Reservoirs in Cambridgeshire

See also

References

External links