Severn Trent plans new £8.5m covered reservoir to supply Derbyshire Dales

The company is seeking approval from Derbyshire Dales District Council for a larger district service reservoir (DSR) on land adjacent to its current 3.4million litre storage facility, built in the 1960s south east of Breamfield Lane, near Wirksworth.

The application proposes to change the use of 1.12 hectares of agricultural grassland, followed by construction of a concrete reservoir with a capacity of 12m litres, covered from roadside views by grass embankments with gravel laid on top.

A Severn Trent spokesperson said: “We constantly review our assets to ensure they meet the needs of our customers. The current reservoir at Breamfield operates effectively but is now undersized and is in line for investment.

“After reviewing all of the options available to us, and to ensure we maintain supply to customers in the area, the most cost-effective solution is to build a new reservoir. The new reservoir will secure water supplies for the future particularly in periods of hot weather.”

Documents accompanying the plans state: “The key driver behind this scheme includes the risk of no supply to customers during incident scenarios [such as] severe hot and cold weather, an upsize in water storage for future customer demand growth in the region, and to provide access to the new DSR for future maintenance and inspections without creating supply issues.”

The existing reservoir is subject to a notice from the Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) requiring it to be decommissioned by July 31, 2024.

Severn Trent is aiming to meet that deadline, but admitted to the Derbyshire Times that the timeframe might be dictated by final details of the reservoir’s design. The application documents outline a construction contract of 18 months in duration.

The regulatory notice corresponds to a legal report Severn Trent submitted to the DWI in 2020 noting that “there is or has been a significant risk of supplying water from Breamfield service reservoir (and associated assets as applicable) that could constitute a potential danger to human health.”

The company firmly insists that there is no issue with the ongoing operation and use of the reservoir, and that its contents are subject to regular monitoring tests, but its outdated design means it cannot be taken out of use for inspection and repairs without causing significant problems for customers during critical periods of peak demand – expected to become more frequent due to the climate crisis.

The new reservoir would consist of two separate storage cells, meaning either one could be isolated for inspection without interrupting normal service.

The construction logistics plan sets out how three laybys will be recreated along Breamfield Lane between Wirksworth Road and the site entrance to allow HGVs to pass each other, with construction project all instructed to enter and exit the site via Wirksworth Road.

For full details, search for application 23/00592/FUL at derbyshiredales.gov.uk.

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