engineering

Megget Reservoir

Megget Reservoir is a engineering topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Megget Reservoir rather than just read about it. In short: Megget Reservoir is an impounding reservoir in the Megget valley in Ettrick Forest, in the Scottish Borders. The 259 hectares (640 acres) reservoir is held back by the largest earth dam in Scotland.

Key takeaways

Megget Reservoir belongs to engineering; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Megget Reservoir to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Megget Reservoir from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Megget Reservoir is an impounding reservoir in the Megget valley in Ettrick Forest, in the Scottish Borders. The 259 hectares (640 acres) reservoir is held back by the largest earth dam in Scotland. The reservoir collects water from the Tweedsmuir Hills, which is then conveyed 28 miles (45 km) via underground pipelines and tunnels to Edinburgh. The pipelines are routed through the Manor Valley and the Meldon Hills, to Gladhouse Reservoir and Glencorse Reservoir in the Pentland Hills. These two reservoirs store the water until such times as it is required. Excess water which overflows from the reservoir is returned to the Megget Water, and hence into St. Mary's Loch.

History The Megget Reservoir Scheme was first seriously considered in 1963. In 1974, the then water authority Lothian Regional Council applied for and received authority from the Secretary of State to proceed. Design was carried out by chartered civil engineers Robert H Cuthbertson & Partners on behalf of the water authority, and construction started in 1976. The dam which holds the reservoir is concrete with an asphalt impermeable core. The reservoir was officially opened on 30 September 1983. It has a capacity of 61,400,000 cubic metres (2.17×109 cu ft), and a maximum water level of 334 metres (1,096 ft) above Ordnance Datum. The embankment is 56 metres (184 ft) high and its crest is 568 metres (1,864 ft) long. In 1983, Lothian Regional Council commissioned a short film - "A Different Valley" - on the construction of the dam and associated works. A copy of this is held by the National Library of Scotland and can be viewed online.

Cramalt Tower

The site of Cramalt or Cramald tower or castle was covered by the water of the reservoir. The excavated foundations have been reconstructed near the shoreline of the reservoir. Cramalt Tower was used by James V when he came to hunt deer in the area in September 1529. In June 1532 he brought a relatively small company of 300 followers. His masons worked on the building in 1533 and in 1534 a baker called Thomas Lyon constructed an oven. There were two towers. When James V came to hunt in September 1538 his servant John Tennent brought bedding from Linlithgow Palace and Malcolm Gourlay brought tents stored at Holyrood Palace for his company. His men were equipped with staffs and halberds. The castle belonged to Lord Hay of Yester. A later 16th-century chronicle by Robert Lindsay of Pitscottie describes James V hunting at Meggetland in June 1528 (but really July 1530) with 12,000 courtiers and followers. After hunting in the region he caught the outlaw Johnnie Armstrong. The royal itinerary and the visit to Cramalt was recorded in the king's household book. James V visited again in September 1538, but his wife Mary of Guise decided to stay at Linlithgow Palace. Mary, Queen of Scots and Lord Darnley stayed for few days in August 1566 while hunting in Meggetland. The Earls of Bothwell, Murray, and Mar accompanied them. While Mary was at the castle she wrote invitations to the baptism of Prince James to be held at Stirling Castle. They found little sport, and Mary issued a proclamation that no one should shoot deer with handguns or bows.

See also Talla Reservoir Baddinsgill Reservoir Fruid Reservoir Westwater Reservoir List of reservoirs and dams in the United Kingdom

References

Megget Reservoir remedial work to upstream face rip-rap protection, by Hesselberg-Hydro Lothian Regional Council Brochure, Megget Water, circa 1983

External links

Gazetteer for Scotland: Megget Reservoir Biggar Archaeology Group Megget reservoir project Southern Reporter, 10 February 2010: Fighting flood from Megget reservoir Case Study, Megget Reservoir: Fighting erosion

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Megget Reservoir

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Megget Reservoir claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In engineering, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Megget Reservoir before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Megget Reservoir ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Megget Reservoir

In research: Megget Reservoir appears in engineering research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Megget Reservoir in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Megget Reservoir is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Civil engineering, Dams in Scotland, Reservoirs in the Scottish Borders, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Megget Reservoir outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Megget Reservoir in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Megget Reservoir means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Megget Reservoir out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Megget Reservoir in simple terms?

Megget Reservoir is an impounding reservoir in the Megget valley in Ettrick Forest, in the Scottish Borders. The 259 hectares (640 acres) reservoir is held back by the largest earth dam in Scotland.

Why does Megget Reservoir matter?

Because it connects several engineering ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Megget Reservoir?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Megget Reservoir.