ALL of dam walls of the reservoirs in the upper dale are safe and are inspected on average three times a week, Northumbrian Water has confirmed.
The news comes on the back of the partial collapse of Toddbrook Reservoir wall, in Derbyshire.
Residents from Whaley Bridge, below Toddbrook Reservoir, had to evacuate their homes for almost a week while officers worked to make the wall safe.
However, officers from Northumbrian Water, which manages the reservoirs in the upper dale, including Cow Green, Hury, Selset, Grassholme and Balderhead reservoirs, say they have a strict schedule of inspections and maintenance in place to ensure safety.
Kevin Miller, the utility company’s reservoir safety manager, said: “We carry out regular inspections and maintenance of all of our reservoirs and dams, ensuring they are safe and comply with the strict regulations set out in the Reservoir Act 1975.
“These inspections, which involve surveillance and monitoring, are carried out an average of three times a week.
“In addition to these inspections, an annual survey is carried across all of our dams and a bi-annual examination undertaken by one of our industry approved civil engineers.
“Every ten years, an independent government appointed assessor also carries out an external inspection of the dams, and should any risks ever be highlighted to us by any of these experts, we would take appropriate action. However, we have no cause for concern about the structure of any of our reservoirs or dams,” he added.
