Gleann Innis An Loichel Dam And Intakes

This relatively small dam receives water from a number of catchments across, including water from the pipeways which feed Misgeach station (see separate item). The water is then piped through the hill to Monar dam and down the cascade of power stations including Deanie and Culligran (see separate items). Water spilling over the fixed spillway enters the River Farrar catchment whose flow is regulated further down the valley at Beannachran dam before passing through Culligran, Aigas and Kilmorack stations. This is a small and relatively functional dam with limited architectural detailing. PL Payne, 1988, 5; E Wood, 2002, 38; J Miller, 2002.

The Affric/ Beauly scheme

The work was begun on the construction of Mullardoch Dam in 1947. This is of the mass gravity type and is 2385 feet in length by 160 feet in height, impounding 7.5 million cubic feet of water. A tunnel was excavated from Loch Mullardoch to Loch Benevan, and another from the latter loch to Fasnakyle, the main power station on the River Affric, both tunnels being over three miles in length. The Fasnakyle tunnel splits into three steel-lined tunnels near the power station, each supplying a 22,000kW vertical Francis turbo-alternator.

The second stage of the scheme involved the Rivers Farrar and Beauly. Water is impounded in Loch Monar by the Monar Dam, supplying the Deanie power station at the west end of Loch Bennacharan which is dammed at the east end to feed Culligran power station, whose outflow to the River Farrar then flows into the River Glass. These power stations generate 38MW and 24MW respectively. The River Glass flows into the River Beauly which has dams and power stations at Aigas and Kilmorack, each a 20MW run of river station. These dams are provided with flood control, Borland fish passes and compensation water facilities with or without generation. The scheme was completed in 1963.

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