Cow Green Reservoir

About

Cow Green Reservoir is a 2-mile (3 km) long water reservoir on the River Tees bordering the historic counties of Westmorland and County Durham in northern England. Using powers granted under the Tees Valley and Cleveland Water Board Act 1967 the reservoir, needed to supply the industries of Teesside, was commissioned by the Tees Valley and Cleveland Water Board. The design engineer was Rofe Kennard & Lapworth, now part of Arup, and construction was contracted to Mitchell Construction. Works started in 1967 and were completed in 1970, with the reservoir being officially opened on the 22 July 1971. The reservoir is now owned and operated by Northumbrian Water. The reservoir acts as a river regulation reservoir releasing water into the River Tees during dry conditions so that it can be abstracted further downstream. These regulated flows allow six further reservoir levels to be maintained and these in turn provide water for industry and domestic use. Environmentally, this part of Upper Teesdale is of national importance and the plan to construct this reservoir had been strongly opposed by local conservationists, professional botanists and geologists, including botanist Margaret E. Bradshaw. Their main concern was the protection of the rich flora and fauna of the district and especially rare alpine plants like the unique Teesdale violet. In the end, about a tenth of this plant's

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