Blackbrook Reservoir

The Black Brook Dam was a dam at Black Brook and Shepshed in the English county of Leicestershire, which broke in 1799 due to a flood.

History

The dam of Blackbrook reservoir was 28 m high, 160 m long and had a storage capacity of 0.2 million m³. The earth dam was built from 1792 to 1796 /97 and served the water supply of the Charnwood Forest Canal, was transported on the coal of Swannington and Coleorton Loughborough and continue on the River Soar along to Leicester. Today's gravity dam is from the year 1906.

Disaster

In February 1799 came after heavy snowfall and rain following a thaw with a flood that breached the dam on 20 February 1799. The reservoir was empty running in 11 minutes; The tsunami flooded the country to Dishley on Soar, destroying everything in its path, including one carried out in earthen aqueduct. The dam was indeed rebuilt and put into operation in 1801, but the canal was already given in 1804 for economic reasons.