Silent Valley Reservoir facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Silent Valley Reservoir |
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 Silent Valley Reservoir
Location in County Down
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| Location | County Down, Northern Ireland |
| Coordinates | 54°08′N 6°00′W / 54.133°N 6.000°W |
| Lake type | reservoir |
| Basin countries | United Kingdom, Ireland |
The Silent Valley Reservoir is a large reservoir located in the beautiful Mourne Mountains in County Down, Northern Ireland. It's super important because it provides most of the drinking water for County Down, nearby areas, and a big part of Belfast. Northern Ireland Water Limited owns and takes care of this reservoir. It was built between 1923 and 1933 by over 1,000 workers.
Building the Silent Valley Reservoir
As Belfast grew quickly, it needed more and more water. The two existing water sources weren't enough. In 1891, an engineer named Luke Livingston Macassey was asked to find a new, big water source. He looked at five places and chose the Mourne Mountains in County Down. He picked this spot because the water was very clean and there was lots of rain.
Special laws were passed between 1893 and 1899. These laws allowed the Belfast City and District Water Commissioners to get a large area of land (about 9,000 acres) to collect water. This area could provide about 30 million gallons of water every day! Since they didn't need that much water right away, they decided to build the system in three steps:
- The first step was to move water from the Kilkeel and Annalong rivers. They built the Mourne Conduit, which is like a big pipe, to carry water to a reservoir near Carryduff. These pipes could supply 10 million gallons of water daily. This part was finished in 1901.
- The second step was to build the Silent Valley Reservoir itself across the Kilkeel River. This would add another 10 million gallons of water per day. They started planning this in 1910, but World War I caused delays. Work finally began in 1923 and finished in 1933. A famous engineer named Dorothy Donaldson Buchanan worked on this project. She later became the first female member of the Institution of Civil Engineers in 1927!
- The third step was supposed to be another reservoir in Annalong. But building the Silent Valley dam was very difficult. So, instead of a second dam there, they built another dam called Ben Crom in the 1950s. This new dam was further up the Kilkeel river valley. They also dug a tunnel under Slieve Binnian to bring water from the Annalong river to the Silent Valley reservoir.
The area where the Mournes collect water is surrounded by the Mourne Wall. This amazing wall was built completely by hand! It was started in 1904 and took 18 years to finish.
The Binnian Tunnel
Between 1947 and 1951, more than 150 men dug a long tunnel under Slieve Binnian. This tunnel was built to carry even more water from the Annalong valley to the Silent Valley Dam. This was needed to keep up with Belfast's growing demand for water.
Two teams of workers started digging from opposite ends of the tunnel. They met in the middle, almost 800 meters (about half a mile) under the mountain! The tools they had back then were very basic, and they even used candlelight to see. When the two teams met, they were only a few inches off from each other, which was incredible for the time!
The tunnel is 8 feet (about 2.4 meters) square and 2.25 miles (about 3.6 kilometers) long. One end is at a place called Dunnywater, and the other end is near the visitor's center. The Binnian Tunnel was officially opened on Thursday, August 28, 1952.
