The Best Guide for the CM12 Area

50 facts you might not have known about Hanningfield reservoir....

•  The reservoir covers the ancient hamlet of Peasdown
• Before the reservoir was built, the area was called the Sandon Valley.
• The main dam is a mass of earth with a puddle clay core and is around 1.25 miles long.
• The dam straight was the longest in Europe when built.
• One earth moving machine was left in the reservoir and covered in concrete.
• The maximum depth of water is16.76 metres (55 feet).
• The average depth of the water is 7.62 metres (25 feet).
• The length of the perimeter is approximately 6 miles.
• The reservoir took five years to build.
• At 100% the reservoir storage is 26075 million litres, the equivalent of 10,430 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
• Hanningfield is the second largest reservoir in Essex.
  
• The number of staff working out of the Hanningfield site is 326.
  
• The longest serving employee working at Hanningfield has been there for 46 years.
• Water is pumped nine miles from the rivers Blackwater and Chelmer to fill the reservoir.
• There are no buildings left under the reservoir.
• W&C French were the main contractors for building the reservoir.
• Hanningfield reservoir was built by the South Essex and Southend Waterworks companies and work started in 1951.
• The water treatment works went into production in August 1956.
• The works were opened by the Rt Hon Henry Brooke, MP, Minister of Housing and Local Government, in Sept 1957.
• The reservoir cost approximately £6m to build in 1957.
• The highest temperature ever recorded at the reservoir was 36.5°C on August 11th 2003
• The wettest year at the reservoir was in 1960 - 789.2mm of rain fell.
• The average annual rainfall (1960-2006) is 571.4mm.
• The longest period without rainfall was for 36 days from 22nd July - 26th August 1976
• The lowest reservoir level was in the first week of November 1996 when it was 39.2% full.
• When the reservoir was first built it took 200 days to fill.
• The reservoir stocks 50,000 fish each year.
• TV personality Chris Tarrant, footballer David Seaman and cricketer Keith Fletcher have fished at Hanningfield
• The reservoir has a fleet of 40 fishing boats, two rowing boats and one speed boat.
• There are two angling clubs based at the reservoir.
• The reservoir used to have a water quality monitoring station called the ‘iron lady' which is now a raft for terns.
• The newest addition to the facilities at the reservoir is Café on the water which opened in Easter 2007.
• The biggest fish caught to date stands at 24lb 1oz and was caught by John Hammond in 1998.
• The reservoir played host to the 2nd leg of the 1999 European Fly fishing Championship, won by team Hanningfield.
• There are over 250 acres of woodland around the reservoir and the treatment works which includes some notable large oak trees
• There are four woods around the reservoir - Chesnut, Peninsula, Well and Hawkswood
• Hanningfield Nature Reserve was first set up in 1992.
• The Essex Wildlife Trust Visitors' Centre, which is next to the reservoir, was opened in 2000.
• There were 46,500 visitors to the Essex Wildlife Trust Visitors' Centre during 2006 / 2007.
• There are four bird hides overlooking the reservoir.
• The reservoir has a birdwatchers' den called Rawl Hide.
• Hanningfield reservoir is designated as being very important for seven species of duck.
• Names of the buildings demolished to make way for the reservoir include Fremnells, Giffords & Pynnings.
• When full, the reservoir has 200 continuous days' storage.
• It serves people in Southend, the London Boroughs of Barking, Dagenham, Redbridge, and the Thurrock area.
• The water held there goes on to supply 540,000 homes which is about 1.5 million people.
• In the winter, when there is plenty of water in the rivers, up to 240 million litres of water a day is pumped in to the reservoir, whilst 150 million litres of water a day is drawn out all year round
• The name of Hanningfield goes back a long way. It means a portion of cleared forest land which was once owned by the family Hann or Ham, who was thought to be a Saxon tribal leader
• The reservoir is covered by a Bird Sanctuary Order.

• Hanningfield treatment works can produce a maximum 225 million litres a day which is over 50% of the average daily demand for Essex.

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