Whinhill Reservoir

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Whinhill Reservoir
Whinhill Reservoir
Whinhill Reservoir - geograph.org.uk - 1471689.jpg
Location: Greenock , Inverclyde , Scotland
Tributaries: several
Drain: to the mouth of the Clyde (mostly piped)
Whinhill Reservoir (Scotland)
Whinhill Reservoir
Coordinates 55 ° 56 ′ 0 ″  N , 4 ° 45 ′ 27 ″  W Coordinates: 55 ° 56 ′ 0 ″  N , 4 ° 45 ′ 27 ″  W.
Data on the structure
Data on the reservoir
Reservoir length 300 m
Reservoir width 300 m

The Whinhill Reservoir (Beith's Dam) in Greenock , Inverclyde is an artificial lake in Scotland. It was built in 1828 with a storage capacity of 262,000 m³ to supply a cotton mill. On November 21, 1835, the 12 meter high dam broke after heavy rain. According to various sources, 31 or 37 people died in the tidal wave.

The misfortune

In 1815 the dam broke once. There was no major damage then. In any case, the dam has not been used since then. Later two men named Beith and Maitland bought the spinning mill and ran a flour mill in it. The dam was probably rebuilt and enlarged by 1828. November 1835 was wet and on Saturday November 21st the rain intensified. At around 11:00 p.m. residents of Cartsburn Street and Stanners Street heard a rumble that turned into a crash. The water of the tidal wave tumbled through the narrow streets and crushed the doors of the houses. The residents thought it was a storm surge and they tried to reach higher ground. But it was the dam that broke and so they went in the wrong direction. Some were trapped in their homes but survived. There were at least 31 dead. A man washed away was holding onto something solid. When the tide was over, he realized it was a lamppost.

causes

During the reconstruction work was carried out according to the plans of the engineer Robert Thom. He was responsible for Greenock's water supply in 1827. The dam should have a solid inner core. It was later found that his plans had not been followed in full. He later stated that the embankment on the waterside was very steep and there was no sealing. It is also believed that rats and voles dug holes in the dam. These tubes caused internal erosion (so-called piping ), which caused the dam to collapse.

See also

swell

  1. ↑ a b Lessons from historical dam incidents, p.52
  2. ↑ a b Dam burst it banks , Greenock Telegraph November 22, 2012

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