Rutland Water is a reservoir in Rutland, England, east of Rutland County, Oakham. It is filled with pumps from the River Nene and the River Welland, which supply water to the East Midlands. According to the surface area, it is the largest reservoir in England, but its capacity is greater than the capacity of Kielder Water in Northumberland.
It is located on 3,100 acres of landscape and has a 23-mile circuit (17 miles (excluding the Hambleton Peninsula) for hiking or biking trips. so that the nature reserve of the peat bog can be preserved. Construction of the reservoir near the Gwash Dam near Empingham was completed in 1975. During construction, it became known as Empingham Reservoir. It flowed six or seven square miles from the Gwash Valley and also from the side valley at the head of which Oakham lay. Nether Hambleton and most of Middle Hambleton were destroyed and their wells dug as part of the land preparation. Its neighboring village of Upper Hambleton has been preserved and now lies on the Hambleton Peninsula. Gwash makes a net penetrate the lake, but its current flows downstream. Most of the accumulated water is drawn from the Welland River between Tinwell and Stamford and from the Nene River above the River Peterborough, which is the main water user.
Because most of the valley is clay, the material for the dam is taken from pits dug in the area, which will later be submerged. The clay dam is 115 feet (35 m) long and about 1,300 yards (1,200 m) long. At the base, it reaches 890 yards (810 m) wide, and the completed building is designed to blend in with the surroundings, even when viewed from Empingham, the nearest village. Rutland Water has a limnology tower to study the ecological condition of the reservoir.
