Civil Engineering heritage: Scotland - Lowlands and Borders
Date 2007
Event ID 606021
Category Descriptive Accounts
Type Publication Account
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/606021
Craigmaddie Reservoir was first planned in 1880 to provide extra storage, but construction did not begin
until 1886 after the completion of road and stream diversions. An embankment 1592 yards long and 93 ft high
was required. Badly fissured rock was encountered in the cut-off trench to be filled with clay puddle to form an
impervious barrier. In one place it had to be excavated to a depth of 193 ft below ground level. The construction of this trench took more than six years and caused the resignation of the first contractor. The work was thereafter withdrawn from contract and executed by direct labour. The reservoir was finally completed in 1896 and cost about £337 000, more than two and a half times the original estimate. The reservoir has a water surface of 88 acres, a depth of 42 ft and a storage capacity of 700 million gallons. The works were designed and superintended by J. M. Gale, Engineer, Glasgow Water Department.
R Paxton and J Shipway 2007
Reproduced from 'Civil Engineering heritage : Scotland - Lowlands and Borders' with kind permission of Thomas Telford Publishers.
