Welsh Water has submitted plans to carry out investment work at Llyn Celyn in Snowdonia over the next few years to improve the resilience of the dam for decades to come.
The not-for-profit water company has submitted a full planning application to Snowdonia National Park Authority for work to be carried out at Llyn Celyn reservoir, near Bala.
Following statutory recommendations in a scheduled 10-yearly inspection at Llyn Celyn, plans for a new spillway have been submitted to help deal with potentially extraordinary high levels of water.
The submitted planning application also includes improvements and extra visitor facilities at the reservoir’s main car park.
Andrew Bowen, head of dam safety at Welsh Water, said: “Welsh Water takes its responsibility for dam safety very seriously.
"As with all large reservoirs, Llyn Celyn is subject to a number of regular inspections.
"The 10-yearly inspection by an independent engineer carried out in 2019 stated that Llyn Celyn is in good condition but made some recommendations for upgrading the site.
"These recommendations are mandatory and must be implemented within five years."
One of the recommendations was to find a solution to deal with any extremely high water levels to minimise manual intervention.
There is currently one spillway at Llyn Celyn located within the reservoir, and this will remain.
Welsh Water now plans to build an additional spillway near the crest of the dam close to the main car park.
The initial plan to build an additional spillway has been shared with the local community over the past 12 months in public events and via an online exhibition. A pre-application consultation was also carried out over the summer.
After considering the responses to the consultation, the plans have now been finalised and a full planning application has been submitted to Snowdonia National Park Authority for consideration.
The proposed plan is to build an auxiliary spillway next to the main car park off the A4212, to deal with exceptionally high water levels.
The probability of having such high water levels in any one year is extremely low - 0.01 per cent, or on average once in every 10,000 years.
Mr Bowen added: “As Llyn Celyn lies within Snowdonia National Park, the visual impact of the new spillway has been a priority for us.
"The new spillway has been carefully designed to blend in with its natural surroundings and work with the land adjacent to the dam.
"As part of this work, we are also keen to carry out improvements for those who visit the dam.
"New picnic tables, bike racks and information boards explaining the history of the reservoir have been included as part of the planning application.”
With the planning application now submitted, the plans can be viewed at www.llyncelyn.com
Welsh Water has also arranged events for the community to see the detailed plans.
The first will be at Ysgol Bro Tryweryn on November 9 (3.30-6pm), followed by one at Canolfan Byw’n Iach Penllyn on November 28 (2-7pm).
The proposed work follows a 12-month restoration project on Capel Celyn Memorial Chapel by Welsh Water which was completed last year to help preserve the Grade 2*-listed building.
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