Temporary fix for Toddbrook Reservoir

THE Canal & River Trust tells that it will start a repair to the failed Whaley Bridge reservoir next year.

However this will only be a temporary repair to just the section of the dam that partially collapsed, that caused over 1,500 people to be evacuated from Whaley Bridge in August over fears the dam would collapse and flood the town, Alan Tilbury reports.

Permanent repairs

Permanent repairs will not begin until the following year, 2021 and will take 'several years', but the temporary work to repair the damaged section is scheduled in early January. However the dam will not be in use until the work is completed.

This means the reservoir will remain empty until the permanent repairs have been completed, meaning Toddbrook Reservoir is expected to be out of use until perhaps 2023 with no definite date given.

CaRT must pay

It is estimated the eventual permanent repairs will cost in the region of £10 millions and seemingly due to the lack of proper inspection and maintenance, CaRT will have to cover the cost of the repairs.

Both CaRT and the government have commissioned inquiries into what caused the damage, with both expected to be published early next year.

New spillway

Simon Bamford, the Trust's Asset Improvement Manager, explained:

"The intention will be to construct a new spillway or structure of some sort to take extreme storm events.  We won't know exactly what we are going to do until the outcome of the inquiries."

Residents have been invited to two briefings at the Palace Hotel in Buxton next Tuesday night. (23rd December.)