Carsington Water 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 ...

operated by

Severn Trent Water Severn Trent plc is a water company based in Coventry, England. It supplies 4.6 million households and business across the Midlands and Wales. It is traded on the London Stock Exchange and a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. Severn Trent, the ...

located between

Wirksworth Wirksworth is a market town in the Derbyshire Dales district of Derbyshire, England. Its population of 5,038 in the 2011 census was estimated at 5,180 in 2019. Wirksworth contains the source of the River Ecclesbourne. The town was granted a mar ...

and

Kniveton Kniveton is a village and civil parish in Derbyshire, England. It is in the Peak District, north east of Ashbourne, Derbyshire, Ashbourne, south west of Wirksworth and from London. It is close to the reservoir at Carsington Water. History ...

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. The reservoir takes water from the River Derwent at

Ambergate Ambergate is a village in Derbyshire, England, situated where the River Amber joins the River Derwent, and where the A610 road from Ripley and Nottingham joins the A6 that runs along the Derwent valley between Derby to the south and Matloc ...

during winter months, pumping up to the reservoir by long tunnels and aqueduct. Water is released back into the river during summer months for

water abstraction Water extraction (or water withdrawal) is the process of taking water from any source, either temporarily or permanently, for flood control or to obtain water for, for example, irrigation. The extracted water could also be used as drinking wate ...

and treatment further downstream. It is England's ninth-largest reservoir with a capacity of 36,331 megalitresbr>
Planning for the reservoir started in the 1960s and construction started in 1979. In 1984 there was a partial collapse of the dam before it was filled. The dam was removed before the construction of a new dam began in 1989. The finished reservoir was opened by Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, Queen Elizabeth II in 1992. The reservoir is a major centre for leisure activities including

walking Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined by an ' inverted pendulum' gait in which the body vaults ...

cycling Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from t ...

, fly fishing,

birdwatching Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device like binoculars or a telescope, by ...

sailing Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, windsurfer, or kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (land yacht) over a chosen cou ...

, canoeing, and

windsurfing Windsurfing is a wind propelled water sport that is a combination of sailing and surfing. It is also referred to as "sailboarding" and "boardsailing", and emerged in the late 1960s from the aerospace and surf culture of California. Windsurfing ga ...

. The land surrounding the reservoir, in particular the facilities around the visitor centre, has hosted events including a music festival, the Festival of the Peak.

Facilities

There are 3 main buildings on the Reservoir, which serve the public in a few different ways. The Visitor Centre is the largest building, with a café featuring panoramic views. There is a small retail outlet currently leased by the RSPB and an outdoor equipment store. Carsington Sports and Leisure is a place for the public to rent equipment, primarily bikes. The company also rents kayaks, canoes, small rowing boats, sailing boats and windsurfing equipment. The company has a good stock of new windsurf hire equipment, with 3 quality starboard boards and sails from 3.5 to 7.5, with beginner kit also. Carsington Sailing Club owns an extensive proportion of the shoreline. Members can hire boats, as well as store boats from small dinghies to anchored cruisers. There are also smaller buildings erected by Severn Trent, including a bird hide north of the visitor centre on the circular bike route, as well as other more minor wildlife-based buildings dotted around the track. There are three car parks by the reservoir, one main one at the site and a southerly one, Millfields, that has smaller capacity and a northerly one, Sheepwash, which has a similar capacity. Birds seen at the site include little owl,

little grebe The little grebe (''Tachybaptus ruficollis''), also known as dabchick, is a member of the grebe family of water birds. The genus name is from Ancient Greek ''takhus'' "fast" and ''bapto'' "to sink under". The specific ''ruficollis'' is from Lati ...

great northern diver The common loon or great northern diver (''Gavia immer'') is a large member of the loon, or diver, family of birds. Breeding adults have a plumage that includes a broad black head and neck with a greenish, purplish, or bluish sheen, blackish or ...

Eurasian oystercatcher The Eurasian oystercatcher (''Haematopus ostralegus'') also known as the common pied oystercatcher, or palaearctic oystercatcher, or (in Europe) just oystercatcher, is a wader in the oystercatcher bird family Haematopodidae. It is the most widesp ...

common tern The common tern (''Sterna hirundo'') is a seabird in the family Laridae. This bird has a circumpolar distribution, its four subspecies breeding in temperate and subarctic regions of Europe, Asia and North America. It is strongly migrator ...

and breeding

common redshank The common redshank or simply redshank (''Tringa totanus'') is a Eurasian wader in the large family Scolopacidae. Taxonomy The common redshank was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his ...

. Feral barnacle geese are found there; a wild, ringed, barnacle goose was found in March 2011—it was ringed at WWT Caerlaverock in Dumfrieshire, Scotland on 8 February 1999. Fly fishing is available from boats that can be hired from the Fishing Lodge. Fly fishing is for brown trout and rainbow trout only. A

horse riding Equestrianism (from Latin , , , 'horseman', 'horse'), commonly known as horse riding (Commonwealth English) or horseback riding (American English), includes the disciplines of riding, driving, and vaulting. This broad description includes the ...

track around the reservoir allows horse owners to ride round an 8km route.

Wildlife Discovery Room at Carsington Water

The Wildlife Discovery Room at Carsington Water is operated as a partnership of

Derbyshire Wildlife Trust Derbyshire Wildlife Trust is one of 46 local Wildlife Trusts around the UK working to promote and protect local wildlife. It covers the whole of Derbyshire and was founded in 1962 in response to environmental threats to the local countryside, si ...

and

. The Trust offers nature programs for schools, children and families.

Geochemical lessons from the Carsington dam failure of 1984 and reconstruction

The failure in 1984 of the Carsington Dam near the end of its construction led to major advances in several areas of geotechnical engineering. It also led to major advances in understanding the nature and extent of geochemical and mineralogical reactions that can occur in earthworks, and how these can be allowed for in design and construction. These aspects had not been considered in the original investigations and design. This resulted in much greater degradation of the fill materials than expected during construction, the pollution of surface waters, and the deaths of four site personnel. In the case of the Carsington Dam construction, it was hypothesized that

autotrophic An autotroph or primary producer is an organism that produces complex organic compounds (such as carbohydrates, fats, and proteins) using carbon from simple substances such as carbon dioxide,Morris, J. et al. (2019). "Biology: How Life Works", ...

bacteria greatly accelerated the oxidation rate of the

pyrite The mineral pyrite (), or iron pyrite, also known as fool's gold, is an iron sulfide with the chemical formula Fe S2 (iron (II) disulfide). Pyrite is the most abundant sulfide mineral. Pyrite's metallic luster and pale brass-yellow hue giv ...

, so that it occurred within months during construction. The resulting sulfuric acid reacted with the drainage blanket constructed of carboniferous limestone, which then resulted in the precipitation of gypsum and iron hydroxide, the clogging of drains and the generation of carbon dioxide.Cripps et al. (1993)

References

{{authority control Reservoirs of the Peak District Nature centres in England Reservoirs in Derbyshire RCarsington