Water management systems in the Colden Valley

The water management systems which powered the wheels were very complex structures. Many of these systems can still be seen today - and some are still useable.

Mytholm Mill water system

Eaves Mill water system

Detail of water system at Eaves Mills

Notes on Eaves Mill
Water was taken from Colden water from a weir about 700 yards upstream of the mills, and conveyed to the mills via a goit. Part of this goit was tunnelled into the valley side to avoid the problem of rocks and other debris falling into it.

This provided a head of water of about 90 feet at the two reservoirs, which were sited on the valley side just above the mills. The Upper reservoir was provided with an overflow spillway to return surplus water to the river.

The upper and lower reservoirs had a surface area of 0.62 and 0.43 acres respectively. (Note. If the working depth is 10ft then the total capacity would be about one million gallons of water.)

This water supply was used to power two water wheels in the Upper mill, each of which was 22 ft 11 in. diameter and 6 ft 7 in wide. Each water wheel was capable of developing about 25 horsepower.

From the Upper Mill the ‘used’ water was passed either to a small intermediate reservoir (which was called a ‘water lodge’) between the two mills or directly back to Colden Water.

The water supply was also used to power two water wheels in the Lower mill, each of which was 29 ft 6 in. diameter and 6 ft 11 in. wide. Each water wheel was capable of developing about 35 horsepower.

The water supply for the Lower mill came from the water lodge which was fed directly from the Lower reservoir when the flow from the Upper mill was insufficient.

After use the water was discharged directly into Colden Water, just above the weir which provided the water supply to the goit and which fed the water wheel at Mytholm Mill.

Lower Lumb water system

Upper Lumb water system

Notes on Upper Lumb Mill
Sluice 1 Controls water flow into the goit feeding the reservoir. It is also fitted with a grill to prevent large objects from entering the goit.

Reservoir 1 contains most of the stored water which is intended for driving the water wheel. The reservoir is fitted with a Sluice (2) so that it can be drained when necessary for maintenance purposes. An overflow is also provided to prevent overfilling.

Sluice 3 is provided to allow the water flow into the second reservoir to be shut off when required.

Sluice 4 controls the water flow into the goit which feeds directly into the Pen trough leading into the water wheel.

From Sluice 4, there is a short open goit leading into a tunnel goit. The tunnel goit probably was built to enable the water to feed into the Pen trough in a straight line, thus improving the performance of the water wheel. The tunnel is advantageous on a steep hillside in that debris cannot roll downhill into it.

The water passes through the wheel and exits through the tail goit back into Colden Water.

Water systems in the Upper Colden Mills

Hudson Mill water system

Water system at Noah Dale Dam

The water systems in the Colden Valley Mills

Maps by Bryan Kohler