{"id":392589,"date":"2025-09-02T18:49:13","date_gmt":"2025-09-02T18:49:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/392589\/"},"modified":"2025-09-02T18:49:13","modified_gmt":"2025-09-02T18:49:13","slug":"the-lost-structures-hidden-for-decades-being-revealed-by-low-reservoir-water-levels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/392589\/","title":{"rendered":"The lost structures hidden for decades being revealed by low reservoir water levels"},"content":{"rendered":"

An unusually dry spring followed by the hottest summer on record has caused a major drought\"TheThe bridge structure revealed in Broomhead Reservoir, South Yorkshire, which has been revealed as the water in the reservoir has dropped to levels not seen for years. (Image: Dave Higgens\/PA Wire)<\/p>\n

Dramatically low reservoirs<\/a> are revealing lost structures from landscapes drowned decades ago following the driest spring in 132 years<\/a> and the hottest summer on record<\/a>.<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, Yorkshire Water<\/a> said that its reservoirs are at 32.6% capacity, compared with around 73% for this period in an average year.<\/p>\n

The utility company added that water levels are continuing to drop and recent rain has not been sufficient to make a material difference.<\/p>\n

A hosepipe ban<\/a> has been in effect across much of the region since early July.<\/p>\n

At Broomhead Reservoir, north of Sheffield<\/a>, the remains of a bridge inundated when the reservoir was built in the 1920s have been uncovered as the water has dropped to levels not seen for years.<\/p>\n

The stone arch is thought to be part of Broomhead Bridge – also known as Cooper Carr Bridge – which spanned Ewden Beck close to a corn mill, which was also lost when the lake was constructed.<\/p>\n

It is now surrounded by acres of mud which is punctuated by a range of structures \u2013 from gate posts and crumbled dry-stone walls to a collection of rusted metal poles which have baffled dog-walkers exploring the site.<\/p>\n

\"AA gate post structure revealed in Broomhead Reservoir, South Yorkshire, which has been made visible as the water in the reservoir has dropped to levels not seen for years. (Image: Dave Higgens\/PA Wire)<\/p>\n

Work on this reservoir began in 1913 but wasn’t completed until 1929 after interruptions due to the First World War<\/a> and engineering problems.<\/p>\n

It was built at the same time as More Hall Reservoir, further down the Ewden Valley, which is also experiencing exceptionally low levels this summer.<\/p>\n

Another bridge in the valley, which would have been submerged under More Hall Reservoir, was dismantled and rebuilt in Glen Howe Park, close to the nearby village of Wharncliffe Side.<\/p>\n

\"ALow water levels at Broomhead Reservoir, South Yorkshire. (Image: Richard McCarthy\/PA Wire)<\/p>\n

Yorkshire Water\u2019s director of water services, Dave Kaye, said: “Yorkshire is in drought following an extremely dry spring and the hottest summer on record.<\/p>\n

“While the rain, which was heavy in some areas but short-lived, has been welcome, the majority has been taken up by the extremely dry ground, as well as plants and trees.”<\/p>\n

Mr Kaye said: “The rain has helped river levels in some areas, which will allow us to abstract from watercourses to take the strain off our reservoirs.<\/p>\n

“This, combined with drought orders and permits that have been granted on the Ouse and Wharfe, as well as others we have applied for in the south and north-west of the region, will help to reduce the burden on reservoirs and enable reservoirs to recover quicker in the autumn and winter.<\/p>\n

“Customers adhering to the restrictions has also helped reduce domestic water usage by 10% and our smart meter rollout in Sheffield is helping to identify leaks on customers\u2019 properties, helping them to save water and money on their bills.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An unusually dry spring followed by the hottest summer on record has caused a major droughtThe bridge structure…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":392590,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3843],"tags":[728,70,16,15,2302],"class_list":{"0":"post-392589","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-environment","9":"tag-science","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-yorkshire"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115136205325978423","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/392589","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=392589"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/392589\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/392590"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=392589"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=392589"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=392589"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}