Milngavie water treatment works

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Craigmaddie reservoir, empty during building works.

Milngavie water treatment works is the primary source of the water for the city of Glasgow (and the Greater Glasgow area) in western Scotland. Part of the Loch Katrine water project, construction was started in 1855 and the works was opened by Queen Victoria in 1859

At average demand, it can supply enough potable water to those it serves for up to 7 days. Its primary supply is an aquaduct from Loch Katrine in the North, that runs 26 miles, and can deliver up to 50,000,000 gallons a day. The aquaduct project was built under the guidance of James Watt and Thomas Telford, an example of their engineering prowess that can still be seen working today.

The reservoir is a common attraction for walkers, cyclists and photographers, who take advantage of the peripheral walkways that verge on Mugdock Country Park, and offer views over the Glasgow area.

1 Reservoirs
2 Statistics
3 External Links

[edit] Reservoirs

Milngavie water treatment works has three reservoirs, Craigmaddie Reservoir to the East and Mugdock Reservoir to the West. Bankell Reservoir is situated to the North of Craigmaddie Reservoir. During the assembly of the new water treatment facilities, both the Mugdock and Craigmaddie reservoirs were drained in 2005 and 2006 respectively to facilitate the laying of pipes to and from the plant, and the resultant scene from Craigmaddie reservoir can be seen above. Special consideration had to be taken for the draining of the reservoirs, as they had never been drained in 150 years of operation.

[edit] Mugdock Reservoir

Mugdock reservoir was initially built and opened in the 1850s.

[edit] Craigmaddie Reservoir

The Craigmaddie service reservoir was built and opened in 1896 to cater for increased demand.

[edit] Bankell Reservoir

The new, third, reservoir is named Bankell Reservoir, and went into operation on the 26th May, 2006. Holding 20 million gallons, the Bankell Reservoir is 80% underground to minimise ecological impact. It is one of the largest treated water holding tanks in the world.