New-look Ulley dam unveiled

Residents in Whiston and Catcliffe were evacuated when the overflow at Ulley Reservoir collapsed, leaving the Victorian earth-embankment dam wall in danger of failure on the night of June 25, 2007.

At the time Rotherham Borough Council used around 2,600 tonnes of limestone to shore up the erosion on the dam wall to make it safe on a temporary basis.

A series of detailed inspections later detailed the measures that the authority would have to carry out to meet safety standards.

Now, following a series of innovative engineering works costing £3.8 million, the new dam structure will be officially unveiled today.

Representatives from all the companies involved in the project will be attending the ribbon-cutting ceremony which will be carried on the top of the dam wall by Cllr

Gerald Smith, Cabinet member for environment and development services.

He said: “This will be a landmark day in the history of Ulley Country Park—exactly three years since that fateful night.

“This has been a major engineering project requiring innovative solutions, which have also had to meet stringent national standards.

“Now the work is complete we can look forward to eventually re-opening the country park to visitors later in the year.”