It was hailed as one of the world s greatest engineering feats of its day and helped transform the health of citizens across the central belt. Opened by Queen Victoria on October 14, 1859, the original Katrine Aqueduct was an integral part of the loch that has been the primary water reservoir for much of the city of Glasgow and its surrounding areas, serving more than 1.3m people. The Loch Katrine system - now made up of two aqueducts that are 25 and 23 miles in length from the loch to treatment works north of Glasgow, provides about 110 million gallons of water a day. Now a £20m upgrade to the original Victorian aqueduct has been unveiled - and the great-granddaughter of the man who helped build the megastructure has welcomed the development.
By Nerys Tunnicliffe of Glasgow City Archives
Visit to Inlet Tunnel, Loch Katrine by the Glasgow Corporation Water Committee and Commissioners, 24 August 1876 during one of their inspections of the site. Pic: Glasgow City Archives THE Loch Katrine Water Works were officially opened on October 14, 1855 by Queen Victoria. For its time it was a very ambitious scheme to increase and improve Glasgow ‘s water supply, aiming to provide 50 million gallons of water in any one day. Until the early 1800s the city’s main water supply was a collection of ancient public wells, the River Clyde and streams. The quality of water from these sources was dubious. One 1848 report, now in the City Archives, states that ‘fluids’ from the sewers were likely flowing into at least two old wells, and lists other wells including those at George Street, Glassford Street and St Vincent Street, as ‘impure’. The quantity of water was als