Belmont reservoir is back with splash - for now (From Lancashire Telegraph)

Belmont reservoir is back with splash - for now

1:39pm Thursday 29th July 2010 in

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BELMONT'S Blue Lagoon reservoir is full of water again, just weeks after being drained.

The owner of the beauty spot pulled the plug on it in May as it needs £40,000 of work to bring it up to the legal standard required by the Environment Agency.

The 150-year-old reservoir does not meet modern flood-risk standards and Julian Smith, the boss of Belmont Holdings, said he did not want to pay £40,000 for something which had no commercial value.

But now, after spells of heavy rain, the lagoon, officially known as Ward’s Reservoir, has been restored to its former glory.

It will not remain full, however, as the lagoon is beng emptied again.

Coun Jean Rigby, who is fighting to save the reservoir, said: “There is a large collecting area surrounding the Blue Lagoon so it is filling up faster than it is draining.

“At the moment, though, nothing has changed in respect of the future of the site.

“For Mr Smith, it doesn’t make financial sense for him to put the money into restoring the lagoon.”

The Blue Lagoon can hold 150,000 cubic metres of water and has a surface area of 28,000 square metres when full.

A large part of the reservoir is only a few feet deep, but it sinks to a depth of about 80ft at its lowest point.

Mr Smith has said that he would be prepared to hand the reservoir over to a trust.