managing water resources A guide to the updated Kielder operating agreement Introduction We are the Environment Agency. It’s our job to look after your environment Kielder is the largest man-made reservoir in Northern Europe, and make it a better place – for you, and for future generations. holding just under 200 billion litres of water. Northumbrian Your environment is the air you breathe, the water you drink and the ground you walk on. Working with business, Government and society as a whole, we are Water (NW) own and operate the reservoir and we are making your environment cleaner and healthier. responsible for the way water is released from Kielder. Kielder operating agreement This document details what is covered by the Kielder Operating Agreement and explains the responsibilities The Kielder Operating Agreement describes the of the Environment Agency and NW. requirements, procedures and guidelines for the Published by: management of the Kielder Water Scheme and other Environment Agency Our responsibilities Rio House reservoirs and river abstractions which depend upon Waterside Drive, Aztec West Kielder for support in dry summers. NW has responsibility for implementing the agreed Almondsbury, Bristol BS32 4UD operating policy. We are responsible for developing Tel: 0870 8506506 The agreement is a technical document written by the agreement and, as a regulator, are responsible for Email: [email protected] www.environment-agency.gov.uk and designed for operational staff at NW and the monitoring the policy to ensure compliance. To do this Environment Agency and, as such, is not available to we measure river flows and compensation releases © Environment Agency the public. It forms the technical appendix for the from reservoirs at gauging stations around the area. All rights reserved. This document may be reproduced with prior permission of the Environment Agency. Section 20 agreement which is the legal document We exchange information with NW on releases, reservoir June 2010 controlling the operation of the system. and river levels and planned operation of the system on a daily basis. Environment Agency Managing water resources – A guide to the updated Kielder operating agreement 1 Kielder water scheme • protecting the environment Figure 1 – Kielder Scheme Map. • the health of the North Tyne and Tyne fishery Figure 1 shows the key features of the Kielder Water • recreational users scheme which consists of Kielder Dam and associated Catcleugh Legend • dilution in occurrences of serious pollution events on Res. River infrastructure, including: the Tyne and the Derwent, Wear and Tees via the Tyne- Rede Kielder Regulated rivers Kielder Tees transfer tunnel Water Abs. Abstraction • Hydropower plant; Tyne Tees Tunnel • Weir and pumping station at Riding Mill on • downstream flood alleviation the River Tyne; • hydroelectricity generation • Airy Holm reservoir; Barrasford Abs. Hydropower and releases (to Hallington Res.) • Tunnel from Letch House to Frosterley on the River Ovingham Abs. Wear and Eggleston on the River Tees (known as the River (to Whittle River Tyne Water released from Kielder can pass through two turbines, South Tyne Dene Res.) Newcastle Tyne Tees tunnel); River generating renewable hydroelectricity. Compensation water River Riding Mill Derwent • Connection from the Tyne Tees tunnel into the River East Pumping Stn Sunderland flows through the smaller of the two turbines continuously. West Allen and Abs. Derwent pipeline and licensed abstraction into Allen River Releases above compensation levels can flow through the Team Lumley Derwent Abs. Mosswood water treatment works; second turbine. These releases are made in three, five or Reservoir • Licensed abstraction from the Tyne Tees tunnel seven day blocks. River air shaft at Waskerley. Frosterley Wear Releases made between November and March start at Cow Green Outlet Water is released from Kielder into the North Tyne either Reservoir 6.00am on a Monday morning to coincide with peak Eggleston as compensation water or to support river flows below Outlet electricity demand. Between April and October releases Middlesbrough NW’s abstraction points on the rivers Tyne, Wear and Tees. Broken Scar through the second turbine start on different days and River Abs. Darlington Tees Regulation releases for other proper uses of water times to allow the river to experience rising and falling flow conditions on different days and times of the week. Release Blackwell Low Worsall resources may be complementary or conflicting. These Abs. Abs. policies have been developed to balance numerous times may be altered from June to October to coincide with interests, including: high tides. This is in an attempt to encourage the upstream migration of salmonid fish out of the upper estuary where 8 0 8 16 km oxygen levels can be depleted during warm summers. 2 Environment Agency Managing water resources – A guide to the updated Kielder operating agreement Environment Agency Managing water resources – A guide to the updated Kielder operating agreement 3 We prepare and issue an annual programme of proposed We can only consider requests from recognised Figure 2 – Example of a reservoir control rule release dates and times in December to NW and other organisations and not from individuals. These requests interested parties. The actual releases from the reservoir must be submitted to us and agreed as part of the annual 6000 depend on the weekly reservoir contents. review for implementation in that year. The time taken to increase from compensation levels to Full the maximum release (ramp up rate) for hydropower or Operation of resources in the Kielder 5000 other purposes, is designed to provide minimal risk to supported catchments downstream river users. It’s our responsibility to monitor NW control the day to day operation of all of the this. Ramp down rates are designed to minimise stranding Surplus zone reservoirs and other resources described below. Releases of invertebrates and juvenile fish by mimicking natural 4000 from the reservoirs vary, depending on reservoir control rates of stream flow recession. l) rules, a sample of which is shown in Figure 2. The programme of releases is prepared weekly to cover (M Control rules are used to ensure that reservoirs do not a two week period from the Thursday of that week. The 3000 empty too quickly during dry summers, thus preserving Conservation zone proposed releases for the second week are an estimate water to be used later in the year. They are calculated Storage based on expected reservoir inflows and may therefore be using historic records of reservoir inflows to ensure that Drought zone adjusted in the following week in response to changes in water is always available at the end of the drawdown 2000 the weather. season (generally assumed to be the end of October), Planning the releases from Kielder is a complicated even during the driest summer on record. process. This means that we can only respond to other 1000 The rules show three distinct zones: requests for releases where these can be made without: • surplus zone – where there is plenty of water available • compromising the support of river ecology • conservation zone – when reservoir stocks start to • significant detriment to other users become low • loss of revenue 01- 22- 12- 05- 26- 16- 07- 28- 18- 09- 30- 20- 10- 01- 22- 12- 03- 24- • drought zone – where only minimum demands can be Jan Jan Feb Mar Mar Apr May May Jun Jul Jul Aug Sep Oct Oct Nov Dec Dec guaranteed to be met Month 4 Environment Agency Managing water resources – A guide to the updated Kielder operating agreement Environment Agency Managing water resources – A guide to the updated Kielder operating agreement 5 River Tyne Figure 3 – River Tyne reservoirs, abstractions and key monitoring River Wear Figure 4 – River Wear reservoirs, abstractions and key monitoring river gauging stations. river gauging stations. Figure 3 shows NW’s infrastructure and Figure 4 shows NW’s infrastructure our monitoring network across the Tyne and our monitoring network across catchment. the Wear catchment. Residents of the Wear catchment can be supplied Urban areas of Tyneside and rural areas Cheviot Hills Catcleugh with water from a river abstraction at within the Tyne catchment are supplied Resvr. R. Rede R. Tyne Cheviot Hills Catcleugh Resvr. R. Rede Lumley; Derwent, Burnhope, Smiddy Riding Mill Newcastle with water from river abstractions and a Hexham Abstraction Ovingham Tarset Burn Shaw, Hisehope and Waskerley Abstraction series of reservoirs including Catcleugh, Bywell G.S. Gateshead Tarset Burn reservoirs; groundwater boreholes in Colt Crag, Hallington and Whittle Dene. Kielder Ugly Dub the Sunderland area and some spring Gauging Station Sunderland The Kielder Scheme provides a strategic Water Kielder Ugly Dub Bellingham G.S. sources. Water can be transferred via Gauging StationR. No Derwent backup for these resources by supporting Water Bellinghamrth G.S. Tyne Resvr. R. No Colt Crag the Tyne Tees tunnel into the Rivers rth the river abstractions in dry periods of Tyn Little Swinburne nt Chester-le-Street e Colt CragResvr. Hallington Wear and Derwent, as well as topping e G.S. the summer. Little Swinburne Resvr. R. Derw Chester-le-Street Resvr. Hallington up the level in Waskerley reservoir. Lumley Reaverhill Resvr. Smiddy Shaw Abstraction Gunnerton T.W. Barrasford Hisehope Resvr. Gauging Station Abstraction Resvr. Reaverhill Barrasford Gauging Station Abstraction Waskerley Whittle Dene Newcastle Resvr. ey e Resvrs Tunstall Durham uth Tyn Horsley T.W. Resvr. R. So ne Whittle Dene Newcastle Ty Waskerley R. Brown Tyne Hexham Ovingham R. air shaft uth Tyne Resvrs T.W. Burnhope Catchment R. So Abstraction ne Hexham Riding Mill Ty Resvr. Tyne BywellOvingham G.S. R.Gateshead Wear Abstraction Abstraction Catchment Riding Mill Catchment Stanhope Wolsingham Gateshead G.S. Abstraction Bywell G.S. ar Sunderland Frosterley We Derwent R. Bridge G.S. Resvr. Bollihope Burn Derwent Wales Resvr. Mosswood T.W. England Bedburn Beck Wales R. Derwent Wales Witton Park G.S.