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Armed forces continue fight to stabilise High Peak dam

Published on: 7 Aug 2019

Armed forces are continuing to assist the emergency services in trying to stabilise a dam in danger of collapse in the High Peak area of Derbyshire.

Part of the dam at Toddbrook Reservoir slipped and failed last week and the town of Whaley Bridge beneath it was evacuated for fear that the millions of gallons of water it contains would breach the Georgian structure and devastate the area.

Since then, high-volume pumps have succeeded in reducing the volume of water in the reservoir by more than three metres, but authorities have warned the situation remains critical.

A Chinook helicopter based at RAF Odiham has been dropping bags containing hundreds of tonnes of aggregate on the affected part of the dam to shore it up, but there are fears more severe weather forecast for tomorrow (August 6th 2019) could pose further danger from floodwater.

Meanwhile, around 40 soldiers from the Light Dragoons have been helping to block a sluice gate with sandbags to prevent more water entering the dam.