Loch Lednock Reservoir And Dam

Lednock Dam is a diamond headed buttress dam (one of only two of this type in Scotland) designed specifically to cope with earthquake hazards from the adjacent Highland Boundary Fault. The dam creates a storage reservoir for St. Fillans power station (see separate item). The dam has a fixed spillway and small dispersal valve to the base. The tunnel intake gatehouse for the tunnel through to St. fillans power station is located approximately 750 meters upstream of the dam. Lednok dam is one of only two diamond headed buttress dams in Scotland, the other being at Errochty (see separate item). The dam is an interesting application of this technology and was designed with great attention to its structural integrity because of the threat of earthquakes from the nearby Highland Boundary Fault. PL Payne, 1988, 24; E Wood, 2002, 50.

The Breadalbane hydroelectric scheme

Construction took place between 1951 and 1961 in two sections north and south of Loch Tay respectively. Dams were built at the east ends of Loch an Daimh, Loch Lyon, Loch na Lairige and Stronuich Reservoir, supplying Cashlie, Lubreoch, Finlarig and Lochay power stations respectively in the northern section. Water collection is by a considerable group of aqueducts and tunnels in the area of the River Lyon and the River Lochay and their tributaries. Finlarig power station is noted for operation at a head of 1348 feet, the highest of any of the schemes. It produces 30MW from a Pelton turbine-driven alternator, the larges of its type in Britain.

The southern section has dams on Loch Breaclaich and Loch Lednock. These Lochs are interconnected by a tunnel, with a power station at the entry to Loch Lednock. The latter discharges via a tunnel to St Fillans power station at the east end of Loch Earn, which in turn supplies Dalchonzie power station, which outflows into the River Earn. Aqueducts and further channels collect water from the surrounding area. The total output from this hydroelectric scheme is 120MW.

Information from NRHE catalogue item number WP007424, compiled by George Walker in 2005.

NN72NW 11 centred 7275 2889

Loch Lednock reservoir also extends over map sheets NN63SE and NN73SW.

For summary of constituent elements of Loch Breaclaich hydro-electric scheme, see NN63SW 22.00.

For drowned farmstead (NN 7063 2994), see NN72NW 5.