The Silent Valley dam: setting the record straight Available to Purchase

The Silent Valley dam and associated reservoir are situated in the Mourne Mountains in County Down in Northern Ireland. The reservoir has been a major source of water for Belfast since 1933. The dam was first proposed in 1891 but its implementation was initially delayed by the client, the Belfast Water Commissioners, and subsequently by the 1914--1918 war so that construction did not commence until 1923. During construction, a major problem occurred in the excavation for the cut-off trench and arbitration was sought by the contractor. Resulting from the arbitration, which took place in December 1926, a proposed method to overcome the problem was explored and found to be successful. Construction of the dam was then satisfactorily completed in 1933. The paper provides brief details of the project, focuses on the engineers and lawyers involved in the arbitration and lays bare certain untruths that have been allowed to circulate unjustly for over 80 years.