Ulley Reservoir

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Former water supply Reservoir created in the early 20th Century. Became a Country Park by Rotherham council in 1985.

On 25 June 2007, cracks in the reservoir walls were found after heavy rains and flooding in the area, causing concerns that the reservoir might burst, prompting the evacuation of the three nearest villages Whiston, Treeton and Catcliffe. Several other areas as far away as Canklow were put on emergency flood alert. The M1 motorway was also closed between junctions 32 and 36 amid fears over safety. This led to 700 local residents being evacuated from their homes. Fire crews used seventeen high volume pumps to remove four million litres of water per hour from the reservoir.

The possibility of the dam being susceptible to cracking had been discussed in 1970, at a conference about problems with dams of a similar age and construction; however, it is not known if the "concrete pads" observed at the reservoir are actually piezometers installed to measure sub-surface water levels within the dam, as discussed at the 1970 conference.

It was feared that, if the reservoir's dam was breached, the sudden flow of water could bring down high voltage power lines, and flood the nearby M1 and a crucial regional electricity substation, which supplies the power to the whole of Sheffield.