Whaley Bridge - Toddbrook Reservoir Damage

[Drago]

Does the dam pre date the town, or vice versa? I mean, who'd build a town under a dam?

 

[tom73]

By utter chance I live on a high spot, a good bit further Nortj if any water course. This was luck rather than design, but if I ever but another house its vulnerability to flooding will be high in the list of things to watch for.

Problem is it keep's changing not helped by fools who keep building on floodplains. 300+ are going up at the back of us who will face a big problem if this extreme weather keeps going.

 

[tom73]

Town came 1st dam came in 1831 to feed the 1800's canal.

 

[nickyboy]

For those who think this is a laughing matter here is what the town looks like

I'm sure it's unlikely the dam will fail, but if it did you can see the result would be catastrophic

 

[Adam4868]

For those who think this is a laughing matter here is what the town looks like

View attachment 478042

I'm sure it's unlikely the dam will fail, but if it did you can see the result would be catastrophic

Scary just watching that on the news !

 

[Crackle]

Is the slipway and the damn wall the same thing i.e. is it vital to the integrity of the wall?

 

[tom73]

Great to see yet again people have started to pull together offering what help they can.

 

[tom73]

Is the slipway and the damn wall the same thing i.e. is it vital to the integrity of the wall?

The dam has had a few issues over the years so it may well be an issue to the rest of it. The other issue is that the dam overflow is already flowing full capacity.

 

[rualexander]

Not sure if it will burst.
It looks like just some of the concrete facing of the spillway has come away, presumably the bulk of the dam structure is still intact, is it a fully concrete dam or is it mostly earthworks?
Looks like it is maybe an 'embankment dam' https://britishdams.org/about-dams/dam-information/types-of-dam/

 

[Globalti]

We actually live a couple of miles downstream from a dam and the brook runs under our house in a culvert. A few years ago I had a bloke down there doing some re-pointing and maintenance and he asked me: "Does this ever flood?" I replied that it never did in dry weather. I went to work and an hour later Mrs Gti phoned me and said: "You'll never guess what - a huge wall of water came tearing down the brook and washed away all the planks and buckets and the poor man only just managed to jump to safety. Now all his equipment has gone down to the farm."

I rang United Utilities and played merry hell and eventually they admitted that they had chosen that morning, out of 365 days, to open and test the scour valve at the bottom of the dam! That turned into a long-running saga but in the end I got nowhere with them.

 

[ColinJ]

For those who think this is a laughing matter here is what the town looks like

View attachment 478042

I'm sure it's unlikely the dam will fail, but if it did you can see the result would be catastrophic

I really would NOT want to be down there if the dam failed!

Let's hope they can pump the water out of the reservoir before catastrophe strikes.

 

[Dirk]

I really would NOT want to be down there if the dam failed!

Let's hope they can pump the water out of the reservoir before catastrophe strikes.

Where would you pump it to?
Probably easier to tell all consumers to turn their taps on.

 

[ColinJ]

Where would you pump it to?
Probably easier to tell all consumers to turn their taps on.

They ARE pumping the water out! Presumably they are having to dump even more into the local rivers and canals, potentially causing problems downstream?

 

[Duffy]

Ahhh but what’s causing the concrete facing to come off?
It’s either flexing or there’s water penetration/pressure from behind

I wouldn’t want to be downstream just now.

 

[fossyant]

Its going in the Goyt, that is already full. Marple Bridge will take the brunt if it gets too full.

That will then flow into the Mersey in Stockport, and cause more flooding out towards Didsbury