Two years to repair damaged dam

The council-owned reservoir was at the centre of an emergency in June when the dam wall threatened to burst.

Only action by teams of firefighters and engineers working round-the-clock, prevented a disaster - with millions of gallons of water inundating homes, an electricity sub-station and part of the M1.

At the time the council denied the reservoir had been neglected and said it met the provisions of the 1975 Reservoir Act - and blamed the exceptional rainfall for the crisis.

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In October Rotherham Council considered a number of options for the future of the reservoir - a popular watersports centre - and decided it should be retained.

A massive campaign was launched by the Friends of Ulley Reservoir and other users who said draining it would mean the loss of a vital leisure facility in Rotherham.

But it is now understood design work on the dam wall could take up to a year to complete - with actual building work not being finished until Autumn 2009.

However the council is spending more than £150,000 on emergency pumps which will be kept on site in case the reservoir reaches danger level again before the work is finished.

Experts are still working on exactly what needs to be done to the crumbling dam wall - but an existing overflow channel will be filled in and a number of new spillways built.

Investigations will be carried out on the core of the dam, pipework will be updated, and the maximum flood level will be recalculated. Exactly how much the work will cost has not yet been revealed.

Special calculations are still being carried out to determine how big the proposed new spillways need to be to avoid an emergency like that experienced in June.

A report by council engineers says: "It is likely that the design process for the rehabilitation work will take most of 2008. It will probably include the physical re-modelling of the reservoir and the need to obtain planning approval for the proposed work.

"Work is likely to start on site in December 2008 and be complete by Autumn 2009. Mean-while on-site pumps have been purchased and will remain there until the rehabilitation is complete. The pumps provide the facility to reduce the water level to ensure reservoir safety."