Knypersley Reservoir

Knypersley Reservoir
File:Knypersley reservoir view.jpg
Location	near Biddulph, Staffordshire
Lake type	canal reservoir
Primary inflows	Head of Trent and Overflow from Serpentine Reservoir
Primary outflows	Caldon Canal, River Trent
Basin countries	England
Managing agency	Canal & River Trust
Built	1825–1827
First flooded	1829
Max. length	630 metres (2,070 ft)
Max. width	220 metres (720 ft)
Surface area	142,000 square metres (35 acres)
Average depth	6.5 metres (21 ft)
Max. depth	12.2 metres (40 ft)
Water volume	930,000 m3 (33,000,000 cu ft)
Shore length1	1.8 kilometres (1.1 mi)
Surface elevation	175.81 m (576.8 ft) OD
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure.

Knypersley Reservoir is a canal feeder reservoir near Biddulph in Staffordshire. The reservoir was built in 1827 to supply water to the Caldon Canal, along with two others at Stanley Pool and Rudyard Lake.

It is the only reservoir along the course of the River Trent, but as all of the inlets are unnamed, it is only downstream of the dam that the river formally becomes known as the Head of Trent.

There are actually two adjacent lakes at the site, the upper one being the Serpentine Pool which feeds the lower Knypersley Pool or reservoir. Designed by Thomas Telford, it was constructed by the waterways engineer James Potter. There were a number of problems both during and after construction with settlement of the dam, and a number of repairs had to be made.

In 2006 substantial improvements were made by British Waterways, and it is currently operated and managed by their successors, the Canal & River Trust, as part of the Caldon Canal group which also includes Stanley Pool and Rudyard Lake.

The fishing rights are owned separately by a consortium of local angling clubs known as the Cheshire and North Staffs Angling Association which was originally made up of 17 fishing clubs when the rights were purchased in 2002, this has subsequently reduced to 15.

The fishery is well known for its stocks of large fish, notably bream, but also includes roach, perch, pike and a few carp that due to their low numbers are not easy to catch. The association manages the fishery on a catch and release basis.