Kielder Water
From Free net encyclopedia
Kielder Water is a large man-made lake cradled within Kielder Forest and set deep within the Northumberland landscape in northern England. It was planned in the late 1960s to assuage an expected rise in demand for industrial water to support a booming industrial UK economy. A change in economic direction away from industry, more water efficient industrial processes and better control of water supply leakage all served to undermine the original justification for the impoundment. Although Kielder water does supply large volumes of water to Teeside and elsewhere, it is very unlikely that any future impoundments of this size will be justified in England in the foreseeable future.
Image:Construction of Kielder Reservoir Northumberland.jpg The lake is owned by Northumbrian Water, and holds 200 billion litres of water, making it the largest reservoir in the United Kingdom by capacity (Rutland Water is the largest by surface area).
It is also one of the region's major tourist venues, attracting over a quarter of a million visitors a year who come to enjoy the wide range of leisure opportunities on offer.
There are two main visitor centres at Kielder Water - Leaplish waterside park and Tower Knowe visitor centre - and other facilites at Kielder, Falstone and Stannersburn villages.