The reservoir was built by Skipton Urban District Council to service the needs of a rapidly rising population in the area.

[4] Sanctioned by the Skipton Water and Improvement Act of 1904,[5][6] forty acres of Embsay Pasture were compulsorily purchased from the Duke of Devonshire in 1905, and work started almost immediately,[7] with the engineering contract being awarded to the specialist company, Messrs G H Hill and Sons.

[10] In the mill's warehouse, the Navvy Mission Society, concerned about the welfare of the workers, was allowed to establish a chapel and a reading room.

[14] No houses were submerged as part of the project, but the old Whitfield Syke Mill was demolished.

[15] Today, the mill's warehouse, consecrated as a chapel, stands as England's last physical link to the Navvy Mission Society.