Abberton Reservoir

Abberton Reservoir
Site of Special Scientific Interest

Area of Search	Essex
Grid reference	TL970180
Interest	Biological
Area	716.3 hectares
Notification	1988
Location map	Magic Map

Abberton Reservoir
Coordinates	51°49.2′N 00°51.6′E / 51.8200°N 0.8600°E / 51.8200; 0.8600Coordinates: 51°49.2′N 00°51.6′E / 51.8200°N 0.8600°E / 51.8200; 0.8600
Lake type	reservoir
Primary inflows	pumped from River Stour
Managing agency	Essex and Suffolk Water
Built	1939

Surface area	4.9 square kilometres (1,200 acres)
Average depth	5.25 metres (17.2 ft)
Water volume	25,721,000 cubic metres (908,300,000 cu ft)
Surface elevation	17.8 m (58 ft)

Ramsar Wetland
Designated	24 July 1981

Abberton Reservoir is an artificial body of water located close to the coast of Essex in the east of England. It is 5 miles (8.0 km) south-west of Colchester near the village of Layer de la Haye. The reservoir is the fourth largest reservoir in England with an area of 4.9 square kilometres (1,200 acres). It is a Site of Special Scientific Interest,^[1]^[2]and also a Ramsar site,^[3] designated an internationally important wetland. It is a Special Protection Area,^[4] and it is listed in the Nature Conservation Review.^[1] A small part of the site is managed by the Essex Wildlife Trust.^[5]

It is a large, shallow, freshwater storage reservoir and is the largest freshwater body in Essex.

The reservoir contains around 25,000 megalitres (5.5×10⁹ imp gal). It is a pumped storage reservoir. This means water is pumped from the rivers Chelmer, Blackwater and Stour to fill it, rather than simply relying on rainfall in the limited catchment area. The reservoir was formed by damming a shallow river valley. Plans to increase the capacity of Abberton reservoir to 41,000 megalitres (9.0×10⁹ imp gal) by raising its bank height.^[6] were completed in 2015.^[7]

On its margins are found well-established plant communities that provide important opportunities for feeding, nesting and shelter. Abberton Reservoir is important as an autumn arrival area for waterbirds that then spend the winter elsewhere.

It was designated a Special Protection Area on 5 December 1991^[8] as a result of its over-wintering populations of golden plover, gadwall, shoveler and teal and for its breeding population of cormorants. In addition there are significant numbers of black-tailed godwit, lapwing, coot, goldeneye, tufted duck, pochard, pintail, wigeon and great crested grebe.^[8]

The Reservoir was used by the RAF's 617 Squadron ("The Dam Busters") for practice runs for the bombing of the German dams in the Ruhr during World War II (Operation Chastise) . Wing Commander Guy Gibson, the leader of the raid, referred to it as "Colchester Lake" in his auto-biography Enemy Coast Ahead. The reservoir was similar in shape to that of the Eder Dam in Germany which was attacked after the Möhne Dam had been breached. The Layer Causeway, from which the photograph was taken, was used as a substitute for the Eder Dam. Military police closed the causeway whilst the practice runs took place. Lancaster bombers fitted with special bouncing bombs designed by Barnes Wallis were used [source?]. The last practice flight to Abberton was a full dress rehearsal of the attack and took place on the night of May 14, 1943; the attack on the dams in Germany took place on the night of May 16, 1943.

The site has a visitor centre on Church Road in Layer-de-la-Haye.^[5]

References

1 2 "Abberton Reservoir citation" (PDF). Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
↑ "Map of Abberton Reservoir". Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
↑ "Designated and Proposed Ramsar sites in the UK and Overseas Territories & Crown Dependencies". Joint Nature Conservation Committee. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
↑ "Abberton Reservoir". Joint Nature Conservation Committee. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
1 2 "Abberton Reservoir Visitor Centre". Essex Wildlife Trust. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
↑ "The Abberton Scheme - Reservoir enhancement". Essex and Suffolk Water. Retrieved 2012-08-28.
↑ "Abberton Reservoir newly expanded". Ipswich Star. Retrieved 2015-06-03.
1 2 "Abberton Reservoir". JNCC. Retrieved 2012-08-28.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Abberton Reservoir.

"Abberton Reservoir". RSPB. Retrieved 2012-08-28.
"Abberton Reservoir expansion project - the story so far" (PDF). Essex and Suffolk Water. Retrieved 2012-08-28.

Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Essex

Biological	Abberton Reservoir Ashdon Meadows Basildon Meadows Belcher's and Broadfield Woods Benfleet and Southend Marshes Blackwater Estuary Blake's Wood & Lingwood Common Bovingdon Hall Woods Bullock Wood Canvey Wick Cattawade Marshes Chalkney Wood Colne Estuary The Coppice, Kelvedon Hatch Cornmill Stream and Old River Lea Crouch and Roach Estuaries Curtismill Green Danbury Common Debden Water Dengie Elsenham Woods Epping Forest Foulness Garnetts Wood and Barnston Lays Garrold's Meadow Glemsford Pits Grays Thurrock Chalk Pit Great Wood and Dodd's Grove Hainault Forest Hales and Shadwell Woods Hamford Water Hangman's Wood and Deneholes Hanningfield Reservoir Harlow Woods Hatfield Forest High Wood, Dunmow Hockley Woods Holehaven Creek Holland Haven Marshes Hunsdon Mead Inner Thames Marshes Little Hallingbury Marsh Mill Meadows Mucking Flats and Marshes Norsey Wood Nunn Wood Pitsea Marsh Quendon Wood Riddles Wood Roding Valley Meadows Roman River Sandbeach Meadows Stour and Copperas Woods, Ramsey Stour Estuary Thorndon Park Thrift Wood, Woodham Ferrers Thundersley Great Common Tiptree Heath Turnford and Cheshunt Pits Upper Colne Marshes Vange and Fobbing Marshes Waltham Abbey Weeleyhall Wood West Thurrock Lagoon and Marshes West Wood, Little Sampford Woodham Walter Common

Geological	Ardleigh Gravel Pit Clacton Cliffs and Foreshore The Cliff, Burnham-on-Crouch Colne Estuary Dengie Globe Pit Goldsands Road Pit Hall's Quarry Harwich Foreshore Holland-on-Sea Cliff Lion Pit Little Oakley Channel Deposit Lofts Farm Pit Maldon Cutting Marks Tey Brickpit The Naze Newney Green Pit Purfleet Chalk Pits Purfleet Road, Aveley River Ter St Osyth Pit Stour Estuary Wivenhoe Gravel Pit

Essex Wildlife Trust

Basildon	Langdon Nature Reserve

Braintree	Brookes Nature Reserve

Brentwood	Thorndon Countryside Centre Warley Place

Castle Point	Little Haven Pound Wood Tile Wood

Chelmsford	Crowsheath Wood Danbury Ridge Hanningfield Reservoir Little Waltham Meadows Newland Grove Phyllis Currie Sandylay and Moat Woods Shotgate Thickets Thrift Wood Woodham Fen

Colchester	Abberton Reservoir Abbotts Hall Farm Fingringhoe Wick Iron Latch Lexden Gathering Grounds Ray Island Roman River Valley Sergeants Orchard Tiptree Heath Westhouse Wood

Epping Forest	Gernon Bushes Roding Valley Meadows

Harlow	Hunsdon Mead

Havering	Bedfords Park Cranham Marsh Ingrebourne Valley

Maldon	Blue House Farm Bradwell Shell Bank Chigborough Lakes Maldon Wick Oxley Meadow Shut Heath Wood Stow Maries Halt Tollesbury Wick

Rochford	Lion Creek and Lower Raypits

Southend-on-Sea	Belfairs Gunners Park and Shoebury Ranges Two Tree Island

Tendring	Cockaynes Wood Colne Point Copperas Wood Great Holland Pits Howlands Marsh John Weston Nature Reserve The Naze Oakfield Wood Skippers Island Wrabness

Thurrock	Grove House Wood Linford Wood Chafford Gorges Nature Park Fobbing Marsh Horndon Meadow Stanford Warren Thurrock Thameside Nature Park

Uttlesford	Aubrey Buxton Rushy Mead Sawbridgeworth Marsh Shadwell Wood Weeleyhall Wood West Wood

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