This was required by the Staffordshire Potteries Waterworks Consolidation and Extension Act 1853 (16 & 17 Vict.

Supply water was extracted, naturally filtered, from underground sources, not from the river or reservoir.

[1] Nine properties in the village of Meerbrook were flooded by the extended reservoir, including The Fountain Inn.

An effluent treatment plant was also constructed below the dam, to treat the effluent from the William Tatton dying works of at Upper Hulme Mill, which were piped around the reservoir.

The Peak District Boundary Walk runs past the reservoir.