The Usk Reservoir is located in the upper Usk Valley, at above sea level, in the western part of the

Brecon Beacons National Park The Brecon Beacons National Park ( cy, Parc Cenedlaethol Bannau Brycheiniog) is one of three national parks in Wales, and is centred on the Brecon Beacons range of hills in southern Wales. It includes the Black Mountain (range), Black Mountain ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. The county boundary between

Carmarthenshire Carmarthenshire ( cy, Sir Gaerfyrddin; or informally ') is a county in the south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. The county is known as ...

and

Powys Powys (; ) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county and Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county in Wales. It is named after the Kingdom of Powys which was a Welsh succession of states, successor state, petty kingdom and princi ...

runs through the

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 ...

which lies about six miles to the north of the Black Mountain escarpment. It is an important

landmark A landmark is a recognizable natural or artificial feature used for navigation, a feature that stands out from its near environment and is often visible from long distances. In modern use, the term can also be applied to smaller structures or f ...

for walkers on the mountain range. Usk reservoir with Black Mountain peaks - geograph

History

Completed in 1955 by

Swansea City Council , coa_pic = , coa_res = , coa_alt = , logo_pic = Swansea City Council Logo.svg , logo_res = , logo_alt = , house_type = Unitary authority , jurisdiction = , foundation = 1 April 1996 , preceded_by = West Glamorgan County Council S ...

, 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, a ...

is approximately 109 ft (33m) in height and 1600 ft (480m) in width. It was the first example in the UK of an

earth dam An embankment dam is a large artificial dam. It is typically created by the placement and compaction of a complex semi-plastic mound of various compositions of soil or rock. It has a semi-pervious waterproof natural covering for its surface and ...

with horizontal drainage blankets. The reservoir covers some of land. It can be located just off the minor road between

Trecastle Trecastle ( cy, Trecastell) ("the town of the castle") is a village in Powys, Wales, situated on the edge of the Brecon Beacons National Park ( cy, Parc Cenedlaethol Bannau Brycheiniog) and in the community of Llywel. The village has a populatio ...

and Llanddeusant, west of

Sennybridge Sennybridge ( cy, Pontsenni) is a village in the historic county of Brecknockshire, Wales, now within the unitary authority area of Powys, situated some from Cardiff and from Swansea. It lies west of Brecon on the A40 trunk road to Llandover ...

. The reservoir is now owned by

Welsh Water Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...

and the surrounding forests are managed on their behalf by

Natural Resources Wales Natural Resources Wales ( cy, Cyfoeth Naturiol Cymru) is a Welsh Government sponsored body, which became operational from 1 April 2013, when it took over the management of the natural resources of Wales. It was formed from a merger of the Count ...

. Most of the area is open to walkers and cyclists via forest tracks and other footpaths. There are several small car parks for visitors. The reservoir is stocked with freshwater fish such as

trout Trout are species of freshwater fish belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae. The word ''trout'' is also used as part of the name of some non-salmoni ...

and can be fished with an appropriate licence.

References

External links

Usk reservoir in the Brecon Beacons national parkwww.geograph.co.uk : photos of the Usk reservoir and surrounding area
Dams in Wales Reservoirs in Powys Dams in Powys Reservoirs in Carmarthenshire Reservoirs in the Brecon Beacons National Park Reservoir, Usk {{Carmarthenshire-geo-stub