Kielder Water Scheme
Northumberland, England, UK · 1975–1981 (Built); 1982 (First flooded)
The judgement call
Account-gated at launchDesigned to store water for the North East of England and manage water resources through the Tyne Tees Transfer scheme [Cool Geography, NWG PDF] - The scheme quadrupled the amount of stored water in the region, providing significant water supply security [ICE] - The dam\'s integrity and the safety of communities are continuously monitored [Insight Terra]
Key engineering challenges
Construction of the largest man-made reservoir in the UK, involving significant civil engineering works for the dam and associated infrastructure [ICE] - Managing the environmental impact of flooding the Kielder Valley and ensuring the safety of surrounding communities [Kielder Waterside, Insight Terra] - Implementing the Tyne Tees Transfer scheme to enable water movement around the region, providing water supply resilience [NWG PDF]
Project facts
- Client / owner
- Northumbrian Water
- Lead contractor
- —
- Lead designers
- —
- Project type
- new build
- Scale
- Largest man-made lake in the UK and northern Europe; Holds 200 billion litres (44 billion gallons or 0.2 cubic km) of water; 11km long; Surface area 10.86 square kilometres (2,680 acres); Dam 40m high, 1.2km long [Wikipedia, ICE, Northeast Museums, Visit Kielder, NWL PDF, Co-curate]
- Disciplines
- Civil; geotechnical; environmental; hydraulic
- Standards & frameworks
- Dam safety regulations; Environmental regulations
Sources: Wikipedia (Kielder Water): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kielder_Water (Accessed: 2026-06-10) - ICE (Kielder Water Scheme): https://www.ice.org.uk/what-is-civil-engineering/infrastructure-projects/kielder-water-scheme (Accessed: 2026-06-10) - Northeast Museums (Kielder Water): https://www.northeastmuseums.org.uk/projects/our-past-your-future/kielder-water (Accessed: 2026-06-10) - Visit Kielder (How it all works): https://www.visitkielder.com/about-us/how-it-all-works/ (Accessed: 2026-06-10) - Northumbrian Water (Kielder Reservoir PDF): https://www.nwl.co.uk/globalassets/customer-images/water-supplyquality-and-leaks-images/kielder.pdf (Accessed: 2026-06-10) - Co-curate (Kielder Water & Forest Park): https://co-curate.ncl.ac.uk/kielder-water/ (Accessed: 2026-06-10) - Cool Geography (Managing water supply): https://www.coolgeography.co.uk/GCSE/AQA/Water%20on%20the%20Land/Water%20management/Kielder%20water.htm (Accessed: 2026-06-10) - Insight Terra (Kielder Water & Dam Monitoring): https://www.insightterra.com/case-studies/kielder-water-dam-monitoring (Accessed: 2026-06-10) - Northumbrian Water (WRMP 2024 PDF): https://www.nwg.co.uk/globalassets/wrmp/nwg/october-24/nwl/nw-wrmp24-main-report-final-18-october-2024.pdf (Accessed: 2026-06-10)