West Water Reservoir
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West Water Reservoir (sometimes Westwater Reservoir) is an artificial reservoir in the Pentland Hills,
Scottish Borders The Scottish Borders ( sco, the Mairches, 'the Marches'; gd, Crìochan na h-Alba) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the City of Edinburgh, Dumfries and Galloway, East Lothian, Midlothian, South Lanarkshire, West Lothi ...
, west of
West Linton West Linton ( gd, Liontan Ruairidh) is a village and civil parish in southern Scotland, on the A702. It was formerly in the county of Peeblesshire, but since local government re-organisation in the mid-1990s it is now part of Scottish Borders. M ...
, and south west of Edinburgh. It is a drinking water reservoir for Edinburgh and the Lothians and is located above sea level. It is an important site for wildfowl and is designated as a
SSSI 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 ...
and a
Ramsar site A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention,8 ha (O) *** Permanent 8 ha (P) *** Seasonal Intermittent < 8 ha(Ts) **
West Water, a tributary of the
Lyne Water The Lyne Water is a tributary of the River Tweed that rises in the Pentland Hills of southern Scotland at Baddinsgill Reservoir. It runs through West Linton and Romannobridge, passes Flemington and Lyne Station and enters the Tweed west of Pe ...
which, in turn, is a tributary of the River Tweed. The reservoir has an area of . The reservoir is surrounded by the North Slipperfield Estate which manages the land for rough grazing and shooting.


Archaeology

Erosion caused by the creation of the reservoir exposed an Early Bronze Age flat cist cemetery. When this was excavated the archaeologists found nine surviving cists. These contained remains from both inhumations and cremations and most of the deceased were sub-adult or young adults. Evidence of floral tributes was found in three burials and grave goods were also found. Abstract


Fishing

West Water reservoir is used by
fly fishing Fly fishing is an angling method that uses a light-weight lure—called an artificial fly—to catch fish. The fly is cast using a fly rod, reel, and specialized weighted line. The light weight requires casting techniques significantly diffe ...
anglers and is stocked with
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 ...
. The fishing rights were transferred from Scottish Water to the local angling club in 2003.


Conservation

West Water Reservoir is a
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 ...
and a Ramsar site. The reason for this is that in the autumn and winter the reservoir is host to a large roost of
pink-footed geese The pink-footed goose (''Anser brachyrhynchus'') is a goose which breeds in eastern Greenland, Iceland and Svalbard. It is migratory, wintering in northwest Europe, especially Ireland, Great Britain, the Netherlands, and western Denmark. The na ...
which, in the years 2003–2008 had an average peak number of over 40,000 birds, almost 115 of the total population of this species. In addition to the pink-footed geese there is a diverse community of wildlife around the reservoir including breeding common gull, common ringed plover,
dunlin The dunlin (''Calidris alpina'') is a small wader, formerly sometimes separated with the other "stints" in the genus ''Erolia''. The English name is a dialect form of "dunling", first recorded in 1531–1532. It derives from ''dun'', "dull brown ...
and common tern. Other important wintering and passage species include common goldeneye, barnacle goose, tufted duck and Eurasian teal.


See also

* List of reservoirs and dams in the United Kingdom *
Baddinsgill Reservoir Baddinsgill Reservoir is a small reservoir in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland close to Carlops, West Linton, and the boundary with Midlothian. It is close to Baddinsgill House. The Lyne Water is dammed to form the reservoir, not the Badd ...
*
Fruid Reservoir Fruid is a small reservoir in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, UK, near Menzion. It is formed by damming the Fruid Water, and supplements the contents of Talla Reservoir, forming part of the water supply for Edinburgh. The construction of ...
* Megget Reservoir *
Talla Reservoir Talla Reservoir, located a mile from Tweedsmuir, Scottish Borders, Scotland, is an earth-work dam fed by Talla Water. The reservoir is supplemented by water from the nearby Fruid Reservoir. It was opened in 1905. To assist in bringing the mat ...


References


External links


Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust monitoring of Greenland/Iceland pink-footed goose
* 
SPA designation
{{authority control Ramsar sites in Scotland Special Protection Areas in Scotland Reservoirs in the Scottish Borders Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Tweeddale and Ettrick and Lauderdale