Bewl Water

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Map sources for Bewl Water at grid reference TQ679328

Bewl Water is a reservoir in the valley of the River Teise straddling the boundary between Kent and East Sussex. It is about 4 km south of Lamberhurst, Kent, England. The reservoir was part of a project to increase supplies of water in the area. It supplies not only Southern Water’s customers in the Medway towns, Thanet and Hastings, but is also used by other water companies in the area.

Work began to dig the reservoir in 1973: by the time over 31,300 million litres of water had been pumped in, it was completed in 1975. It is now the largest body of inland water in south east England.

Every winter, water from the River Medway is used to top up the reservoir, when flows in the river exceed 275 million litres per day.

The reservoir is host to a huge variety of wildlife. Many recreational activities such as sailing, rowing, trout fishing and walking take place on and around the reservoir; this makes it one of the region’s most popular attractions. There is also a passenger boat, a restaurant, conference facility and gift shop.

Bewl Water is home to Bewl Bridge Rowing Club, one of the largest rowing and sculling clubs in south east England. The club has strong links to the local community and has members covering a wide range of age and ability. It is Sport England ClubMark accredited and open to all.

It is slightly misleading to say that the reservoir was 'dug' as it resulted from the flooding of a naturally occurring valley, dammed at one end. It is also worth noting that there is an outline plan to raise the water level by 3m to increase the yield by up to 30% to help with the growing demand in southeast England.