| Location | Exmoor, Somerset, England |
|---|---|
| Coords | 51.177°N 3.631°W |
| Inflow | Nutscale Water |
| Outflow | Nutscale Water |
| Agency | Wessex Water |
| Date-built | 1942 |
| Area | 8 acres (3.2 ha) |
| Depth | 12.2 metres (40 ft) |
| Volume | 277,000 m3 |
| Shore | 1,140 metres (3,740 ft) |
Nutscale Reservoir is a reservoir located in Exmoor in north west Somerset, England. It was intended to supply the town of Minehead and nearby Porlock and Porlock Weir.[1] The reservoir is part of the River Horner catchment area and is fed by Nutscale Water . The reservoir is no longer used for public drinking water supply.[2]
The reservoir was built in 1942.[3] A mass concrete gravity arch dam, 90m along the crest and 14m high[4] impounds 36,000,000 imperial gallons (160,000,000 L). This was intended to relieve summer droughts in Minehead.[5]
High levels of geosmin were recorded in 2008.[6] To manage the effects of this on tap water systems were developed to remove this reservoir from the drinking water supply when necessary and flush the pipe carrying the water.[7]
The site is operated by Wessex Water whose drought plan suggests that six months would be required to bring Nutscale back into supply operations in a severe drought.[8]
The fishing rights to the reservoir are owned by the National Trust, as part of its Holnicote Estate, and leased out privately.[9]
References
- ^ "Nutscale Reservoir". BBC. Retrieved 8 October 2015.[dead link]
- ^ "South and West Somerset abstraction licensing strategy". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2025-08-31.
- ^ "Conspirators Charge Against Council". Taunton Courier, and Western Advertiser. 30 July 1938. Retrieved 8 October 2015. – via British Newspaper Archive
- ^ Panahandeh, Hadi (2018). "Valuation of Dams. Appendix 5.9.B – Third party report – MWH for Wessex Water". Wessex Water. Retrieved 31 August 2025.
- ^ "Minehead Summer Shortage". Taunton Courier, and Western Advertiser. 4 December 1937. Retrieved 8 October 2015. – via British Newspaper Archive
- ^ "Nutscale Reservoir Taste and Odour Investigations" (PDF). Wessex Water. Retrieved 8 October 2015.[dead link]
- ^ "Public water supplies in the Western region of England July 2012 A report by the Chief Inspector of Drinking Water". DEFRA. p. 27. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
- ^ "Drought Plan 2022 Wessex Water". Wessex Water. Retrieved 31 August 2025.
- ^ "Fishery Survey of the Horner Water Catchment". National Rivers Authority. 1993. Retrieved 8 October 2015.