Cow Green Reservoir
Upper Teesdale, County Durham, UK · 1967-1971
The judgement call
Account-gated at launchThe project was controversial due to its environmental impact on a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). - The reservoir was built to secure water supply for industrial growth in Teesside. - The dam is an earth embankment dam, a significant civil engineering feat of its time.
Key engineering challenges
Building a dam in a remote area with challenging geological conditions. - Managing the environmental impact on a sensitive ecological area (home to rare arctic-alpine plants). - Constructing a large dam to meet the water demands of industrial Teesside.
Project facts
- Client / owner
- Tees Valley and Cleveland Water Board (original); now Northumbrian Water.
- Lead contractor
- —
- Lead designers
- —
- Project type
- new build
- Scale
- 2-mile (3 km) long reservoir; dam is 25m high and 550m long; built to supply industries of Teesside.
- Disciplines
- civil; geotechnical; hydraulic
- Standards & frameworks
- Relevant UK dam construction and water supply regulations of the era.
Sources: "Cow Green Reservoir: Securing Water for the North Pennines", ICE, https://www.ice.org.uk/what-is-civil-engineering/infrastructure-projects/cow-green-reservoir - "Cow Green Reservoir", Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cow_Green_Reservoir - "Cow Green dam and reservoir", Emerald Insight, 1975, https://www.emerald.com/jpric/article-pdf/58/2/147/2630076/iicep_1975_3801.pdf - "Tales of the Tees - Cow Green Reservoir Dam", Spark Tees Valley, 2024, https://www.sparkteesvalley.com/tales-of-the-tees-cow-green-reservoir-dam/