Chasewater

For other uses, see Chasewater (disambiguation).

Chasewater
The eastern dam in January 2012
Location	Chasetown, England
Lake type	reservoir
Primary inflows	Crane Brook, Norton Brook and other small streams
Primary outflows	via culvert to Wyrley and Essington Canal
Catchment area	9 square kilometres (2,200 acres)
Managing agency	Staffordshire County Council
Built	1797
Max. length	2.04 kilometres (1.27 mi)
Max. width	0.61 kilometres (0.38 mi)
Surface area	1.08 square kilometres (270 acres)
Average depth	3.4 metres (11 ft)
Max. depth	11.3 metres (37 ft)
Water volume	3,691,400m³ (812 million gallons)
Shore length1	3.5 miles (5.6 km)
Surface elevation	152m
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure.

Chasewater is a reservoir in the parish of Burntwood, in the district of Lichfield, Staffordshire, England. Originally known as Norton Pool, it was created as a canal feeder reservoir for the Wyrley and Essington Canal in 1797. The reservoir was partly dewatered in 2010 for repair works to the eastern dam, once the repair works are complete it is understood the reservoir will refill to maximum levels during 2013.

Chasewater is the third largest reservoir by volume in the county of Staffordshire and the largest body of open water in the West Midlands.

History

Work on building the reservoir started in 1796 and it was opened on 8 May 1797. In May 1799 the eastern dam burst, sending millions of gallons of water down the valley towards Shenstone. Work started soon to rebuild the dam which re-opened on 2 January 1800 to supply water to the Wyrley & Essington Canal, and it quickly became a profit-centre for the canal company, selling water to other canals in the area. The canal was bought by the Birmingham Canal Navigations in 1840.

Legislation to close the canal was enacted in 1954. However, much of it remained in use as a feeder from the reservoir to the rest of the BCN system. The reservoir became known as Norton Pool. Brownhills Urban District Council purchased Norton Pool in 1956 for £5,600 which was for a total area of 272 acres (1 km²) and 2 cottages, from the British Transport Commission and renamed it Chasewater, after nearby Cannock Chase.

There is a smaller body of water known locally as Jeffrey's Swag that drains into the main body of Chasewater. The two are separated by a causeway carrying the Chasewater Railway.

When, in 1974, the West Midlands county was created from parts of Staffordshire, Warwickshire and Worcestershire, the new Staffordshire-West Midlands border cut though the reservoir, running South-East from near Jeffrey's Swag to near the mid-point, then turning an approximate right-angle to the North-East. In around 1994, the western/southern shores of Chasewater, plus Jeffreys Swag, were 'moved' from the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, then the west Midlands, back into Staffordshire. The West Midland Bird Club, who maintain the official county bird lists for both counties, counted sightings at Chasewater as being in Staffordshire, throughout this period.

Flora and fauna

The Chasewater habitat supports several rare plant and animal species including:

• Floating Water-plantain (Luronium natans)
• Round-leaved Wintergreen (Pyrola rotundifolia)
• the carnivorous Round-leaved Sundew (Drosera rotundifolia)
• Adder’s tongue (Erythronium)
• Black spleenwort (Asplenium adiantum-nigrum)
• Goldeneye Duck (Bucephala)
• Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula)

Today

A view of Jeffries Swag

The surrounding area is designated as a country park. The reservoir hosts a variety of activities including water skiing, sailing, angling and bird watching. Running around Chasewater is the Chasewater Railway.

The large house situated half way along the dam wall was originally the weirmaster's cottage. The weirmaster would walk up to the small hexagonal building, constructed to the same design as BCN tollhouses, and operate the weir to release water from Chasewater reservoir into the canal. The weir is now computer controlled and the house is owned and lived in by the Downs family.

The road over the dam had to be closed to through traffic when it was feared that the eighteenth century structure might be unable to cope with both the volume of water and heavy vehicles. Given the need to retain traditional water levels in the reservoir for both sailing and canal use, dropping the level of the water behind the dam was not deemed feasible. Subsequently the construction of the M6 Toll between the reservoir and the A5 required the construction of a new bridge over the motorway to access the southern side of the lake, where an Innovation Centre provides enhanced access to the waterfront. Selling land for motorway construction also allowed the Chasewater Railway to construct new premises and a large engine shed on the lake side.

Dam repair

The water level at Chasewater is currently below normal level as it was dewatered in 2010 to allow engineers access to the eastern dam, which was in need of repairs. The £5.5 million repairs commenced in late December 2010 and are projected to finish in Spring 2012. It is predicted that the water level in the reservoir will return to normal by 2013 (weather dependant).

British Waterways has expressed concern that the interruption in the supply of water to the BCN may lead to water shortages and restrictions to boating.

When it was emptied, two World War II-era bombs were discovered on the newly exposed reservoir bed. They were determined to be inert and later removed.

Panorama of Chasewater drained for maintenance in 2010

See also

• Canals of the United Kingdom
• History of the British canal system

External links

• Chasewater Wildlife Group
• Chasewater Watersports Club
• SK035076
• Lichfield Distrcit Council - Chasewater Page