Britain's concrete dams—the final 50 years?

Abstract

The second half of the 20th century saw over 60 large concrete dams built in Britain for a wide variety of water supply and hydroelectric reservoirs. However, with increasing social and environmental concerns about such projects, the Maentwrog gravity dam built 10 years ago could be the UK's last. The late Geoffrey Binnie described the development of concrete and masonry dams in the UK up to 1942, from Vyrnwy to Haweswater. This paper aims to complete that history. It describes the development of concrete dams, from simple mass-concrete gravity structures to prestressed and double-curvature arch designs, and the effect of improving technologies. It also looks at how the expertise of UK dam designers has been exported worldwide and concludes with a brief review of the World Commission on Dams report.