Blackwater Reservoir

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The Blackwater Reservoir is a reservoir created behind a dam in the mountains above Kinlochleven, Lochaber, Highland, Scotland. At over 914 m long, the dam is the longest in the Highlands.

The hydroelectric scheme was constructed in the early 1900s for the British Aluminium Company (later: British Alcan) and was designed by engineers Patrick Meik and Charles Meik. Chief assistant resident engineer was William Halcrow.

The dam, at 27 m high, was built at an elevation of over 305 m in rugged and almost inaccessible terrain, and involved the construction of some 6 km of concrete aqueduct and nearly 13 km of steel pipe.

The dam was built using hand tools, without the benefit of mechanical earth moving machinery, and has been described as the last major creation of the traditional 'navvy' whose activities in the construction of canals and railways left an indelible mark on the British countryside.