Dunwan Dam
Reservoir (Period Unassigned)
Site Name Dunwan Dam
Classification Reservoir (Period Unassigned)
Alternative Name(s) Dunwan Burn; Dunwan Reservoir
Canmore ID 277889
Site Number NS54NE 131
NGR NS 55300 49300
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/277889
- Council East Renfrewshire
- Parish Eaglesham
- Former Region Strathclyde
- Former District Eastwood
- Former County Renfrewshire
NS54NE 131.00 55300 49300
Dunwan Dam
Top water level 248m above Newlyn datum [NAT]
OS 1:10,000 map, 1992.
NS54NE 131.01 NS 55575 49429 Dam
NS54NE 131.02 NS 55470 49428 Boat House
NS54NE 131.03 NS 55505 49429 Draw-off Tower [valve tower or valve house]
Extends onto map sheet NS54NW.
The modern dam replaced an older dam, which was situated around 100m to the S. The first dam, marked on the OS 1st edition map, is now under the water level of the present reservoir. The reservoir today covers 129 acres and has a capacity of 1,632,690 cubic metres. Work on the dam was possibly carried out in 1939. At NS 5555 4944 there is a dam tunnel, on the NE side of the dam. It contains a sluice and pipe that drew off water to supply the nearby farm lands. It was built in 1939 and originally had a clock gauge to monitor the water being extracted. This is no longer present.
S Hunter, R Hunter 2005.
Project (2007)
This project was undertaken to input site information listed in 'Civil engineering heritage: Scotland - Lowlands and Borders' by R Paxton and J Shipway, 2007.
Publication Account (2007)
Dunwan Dam Draw-off Tower, Dunwan Dam and reservoir are located above Eaglesham close to the B764 Fenwick Road. In any draw-off tower the problem is that the high pressure of the depth of water in the reservoir can lead to leaks in the tower, excessive dampness and corrosion in the pipework.
At Dunwan in the 1930s the engineers Kyle & Frew devised an ingenious solution to the problem by siting the tower inside a bellmouth spillway, giving two concentric circular concrete structures. Thus the draw-off tower is separated from the water pressure of the reservoirand operates in dry conditions. Fifty years later in the 1980s the engineers for the Megget Reservoir supplying Edinburgh R. H. Cuthbertson & Partners devised the same solution independently not knowing of its previous use. As far as is known these are the only two examples in Scotland of this innovative construction.
R Paxton and J Shipway 2007
Reproduced from 'Civil Engineering heritage : Scotland - Lowlands and Borders' with kind permission of Thomas Telford Publishers.
