Blackwater Reservoir
| Blackwater Reservoir | |
|---|---|
| Location | Lochaber, Highland, Scotland |
| Coordinates | 56°41′N 4°46′W / 56.683°N 4.767°W |
| Lake type | Reservoir |
| Primary outflows | Black Water |
| Basin countries | Scotland |
| Surface area | 55 square miles (140 km2) |
| Surface elevation | 1,068 feet (326 m) |
The Blackwater Reservoir is a reservoir created behind a dam in the mountains above Kinlochleven, Lochaber, Highland, Scotland. The dam is 3,112 ft (949 m) long, the longest in the Highlands. The reservoir created is approximately 8 miles (13 km) long, with a drainage basin of about 55 square miles (140 km2). It inundated the Black Water and a chain of three lochs, Lochan Inbhir, Lochan na Sàlach Uidre and Loch a'Bhàillidh.
The dam and reservoir was constructed as part of the Kinlochleven hydroelectric scheme in the early 1900s for the British Aluminium Company for the purpose of smelting aluminium and was designed by engineers Patrick Meik and Charles Meik. Chief assistant resident engineer was William Halcrow. It was the first rock fill embankment dam to be constructed in Scotland.
The 86 ft (26 m) high dam was built at an elevation of about 1,000 ft (300 m) in rugged terrain. The crest level of the dam is at 1,068 ft (326 m). The reservoir has a surface area of 1,091 hectares (2,700 acres), a mean depth of 19.7 m (65 ft), and a volume of almost 215,000,000 cubic metres (7.6×109 cu ft).