Chasewater - Dam and Reservoir

Dam and Reservoir

Chasewater reservoir is retained by two earth embankment dams. The main eastern dam runs north-south along the eastern side of the reservoir and is 560 metres (1,840 ft) long with a maximum height of 14 metres (46 ft), a crest width of 15 metres (49 ft) and maximum width at its base of 70 metres (230 ft). The secondary western dam is a continuous embankment along the western side of the reservoir and is 1,300 metres (4,300 ft) long with a maximum height of 4 metres (13 ft).

The eastern dam was constructed between 1796 and 1797 across the Crane Brook valley damming Crane Brook; a tributary of the River Tame. The dam was constructed with the boulder clay and alluvium excavated from the reservoir bed. Later additions to the dam are formed with colliery waste from mining activity in the area. The overflow level of the dam was raised in the late 19th and early 20th century to increase the capacity of the reservoir. The dam was raised by approximately 1.5 metres (4.9 ft), a new bridge was built across the outflow basin above the old one, a new valve house was constructed on the raised crest and a 3 feet (0.91 m) wave wall was built along the crest.

The western dam stretches from approximately 300 metres (980 ft) north of Brownhills West station to Norton East Road. The embankment dams the headwaters of streams which formerly flowed westwards to discharge into the River Penk. The dam was constructed between 1796 and 1797 with excavated materials from the reservoir bed, however it was extended northwards in the 1890s to counteract the settlement of the land due to mining subsidence. The extended section of the dam was formed with tipped material containing burnt clay and a core of clay puddle. South of the railway causeway the dam was widened when the area was landscaped using colliery waste as fill, it now does not resemble a dam although it still acts as one. The extension of the western dam allowed the overflow to be raised on the eastern dam in the late 19th century. This increased the capacity of the reservoir and created Jeffries Swag on the north side of the railway causeway.

The reservoir has a capacity of 3,691,400m³ (812 million gallons) and a surface area of 1.08 km² (270 acres) with a maximum water depth of 11.3 metres (37 ft) near its eastern end. Chasewater is the third largest reservoir in Staffordshire by capacity and second by surface area.