200-year-old embankment strengthening works complete at Wilstone Reservoir

National canal charity Canal & River Trust has completed a £7 million 14-month programme of statutory safety works at Wilstone Reservoir near Tring. The works, which were required under the Reservoir Act, included driving 1,400 steel piles into the reservoir’s 1,350-metre-long embankments to strengthen them.

Built in 1802 to supply water to the Grand Union Canal, today Wilstone Reservoir is part of the Tring Reservoirs Nature Reserve Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and is a popular place for walking, fishing and bird watching. At 119 acres, Wilstone Reservoir is the largest of the four reservoirs at Tring. It is up to 5.5 metres deep and has the capacity to hold over 1,000 mega litres of water, the equivalent of around 450 Olympic sized swimming pools. It has two five-metre-wide embankments stretching for 1,350 metres which range in height from two to 11 metres.

Ros Daniels, the Canal & River Trust’s London & South East director, explains: ‘Wilstone Reservoir provides an important place for water storage for the Grand Union Canal and has also become a popular site for angling, walking and bird watching.

‘These works, carried out by our contractor Kier, will secure it for future generations. As well as strengthening the embankment, we’ve repaired the reservoir’s culvert, used to draw off water in emergencies.

‘We’ve also improved public access to the site by levelling and resurfacing the reservoir crest footpath and a 200-metre section of the wooded area to the north side of the reservoir. We’ve resurfaced the car park, installed new steps and created nine new seating areas along the south-west embankment.

‘To minimise disruption, the works were carried out using land-based equipment. This meant we didn’t need to drain the reservoir, so it was able to supply the Grand Union Canal last year, helping to keep it open for longer during the drought. The reservoir, which is groundwater-fed, has been refilling as usual over the early months of the year.’

Eddie Quinn, managing director for Environment at Kier Infrastructure, comments: ‘Improving the resilience of our UK reservoirs, like Wilstone Reservoir, is important for our water security, creates vital habitats where wildlife can thrive, and places that people can enjoy.’

Later this year, the Trust is planning a series of biodiversity improvements, including reed bed enhancements within the Wilstone Reservoir nature reserve area and gap planting in the reservoir’s hedgerows.

People can find out more about visiting Wilstone Reservoir and other places on the charity’s canal network at www.canalrivertrust.org.uk and can download a free guide at www.canalrivertrust.org.uk/free-guide.

There will be an event marking the completion of the project together with new paths, seating areas and visitor access steps on Tuesday 12 May from 10.30am-12.30 at Wilstone Reservoir Car Park, Lower Icknield Way, Tring, Hertfordshire HP23 4NW.