Tittesworth Water

Tittesworth Water occupies a beautiful setting with The Roaches as its breathtaking backdrop. Severn Trent Water built the visitor centre in 1998 although the reservoir was first constructed as early as 1858. It is now used to store the water supplying homes and businesses in parts of the Staffordshire Moorlands, Stoke-on-Trent and Leek. There are over 100 hectares of rich wildlife habitat, linking the agricultural landscape of North Staffordshire with the wild moorlands of the Peak District. Tittesworth has a wide variety of habitats, from conifer plantation and semi ancient woods to wildflower meadows and marshland. This variety of habitat enables us to provide food, shelter and water for a wide variety of wildlife species. Lapwing, snipe and curlew are regular visitors to the fields around Tittesworth and when water levels fall in the Summer the exposed mud attracts birds such as oystercatchers, plovers and herons. The meadows are rich in wild flowers such as purple spotted orchid, ox-eye daisy and birds foot trefoil. These plants also provide food for butterflies such as the meadow brown. What is Tittesworth’s role in the water supply? Tittesworth Water pumps on average 28 million litres of water a day and has the capacity to provide up to 45 million litres a day. This water is then distributed to households and businesses in parts of Stoke on Trent, Leek and the Staffordshire Moorlands. Water flows into Tittesworth Reservoir from the Upper River Churnet. Most of the water comes from winter floods, the reservoir acts as a huge storage tank, taking water in and out when needed. What happens to the water at Tittesworth? The water from the reservoir is treated to drinking water standards at Tittesworth Treatment Works and pumped into a storage reservoir at Ladderedge. The water from Ladderedge, in conjunction with borehole water from Wallgrange, Poolend and Highgate, is then distributed to homes and businesses to be used by our customers.