Joy as floods help to fill up Chasewater reservoir
The recent heavy rainfall brought misery to millions, but staff overseeing the recovery of a previously dry reservoir are celebrating after seeing water levels rise dramatically.
Chasewater reservoir, which was drained of water in 2010 amid safety concerns, is now one metre below its normal depth. The site's 200-year-old dam was repaired to the tune of £5.5million last year after experts feared a breach could flood nearby homes.
It was half full as recently as September and was expected to take until at least mid-2013 to refill.
But 70cm of rain in the past two weeks has seen levels of the reservoir, near Brownhills, return to almost normal.
Staffordshire County Council's Mark Winnington, cabinet member for environment and assets, said: "When we fixed the dam, it was estimated that it would take two to four years to get back to normal levels, but we are already almost at the target level.
"If we continue to get rain like we've had over the year, we could be back to normal levels soon."
In May, sailing clubs were welcomed back on the water, while the outdoor education centre has re-started its canoeing and sailing programmes, which were being held at Stowe Pool in Lichfield.
More wildlife is also being attracted back to the reservoir, in particular birds, with a Great Northern Diver spotted there last week.
The dam repair included creating a new weir with more than 100 tons of concrete, which will control the flow of excess water when the reservoir is full.
