This week’s photograph was taken by Heather Middleton, capturing the reflection across the Scar House Reservoir.

Heather Middleton

Photo of the Week celebrates the Harrogate district. It could be anything from family life to capturing the district’s beauty. We are interested in amateur and professional photographs, in a landscape format.

Send your photographs to letters@thestrayferret.co.uk for a chance to be featured next week, we reserve the right to adjust and crop images to fit into our format.

Up to 1,000 Nidderdale residents, businesses and visitors are set to receive 4G phone coverage thanks to a new mast at Scar House reservoir.

The EE mast, which Yorkshire Water installed in partnership with BT, was erected primarily to enable water quality to be monitored remotely.

Yorkshire Water, which owns the reservoir, has installed monitors on water courses feeding Scar House.

Data transmitted by the mast will allow scientists and engineers to proactively select the best available water sources for transfer to its water treatment works.

Weather, temperature, and the condition of the moorland can impact the quality of water sources, as they can influence things like the amount of peat found in the water.

Managing water at its source is a more cost effective and environmentally friendly approach than traditional energy intensive and expensive “end of pipe” treatment solutions.

The better the water quality is at source, the less energy it takes to process at the treatment works, reducing Yorkshire Water’s carbon footprint.

Ted Rycroft, Yorkshire Water’s product and process manager, said:

“Water coming out of customers taps will continue to be the high quality that it always has been – the key change here is that the water coming into the treatment works will be of higher quality, and therefore require less treatment.

“That helps us to keep costs down for our customers and our operational emissions to a minimum, while maintaining our high standards of water quality.”

Ashish Gupta, BT’s managing director for corporate and public sector, hailed the project as “the perfect example of using tech to work smarter – benefiting both local people and the environment”.

Read more:

• Pateley Bridge road finally reopens after landslip repairs
• 24 bus from Pateley Bridge to Harrogate saved

A hosepipe ban is not being introduced in the Harrogate district despite continuing dry weather — but Yorkshire Water has said it “cannot rule it out” in future.

The water company is advising people to reduce their usage as much as possible as water levels remain low in Swinsty, Fewston and Thruscross reservoirs to the west of Harrogate, as well as Scar House and Grimwith in Nidderdale.

However, despite there being no rain in the forecast for the coming fortnight, the authority has not said it will follow in the footsteps of others by introducing a hosepipe ban.

A spokesperson for the company said:

“Yorkshire has experienced a particularly dry spring and summer and the reservoirs and rivers in our region are seeing the impact. Reservoir levels are currently around 51% – they declined by 2% over the last week despite the rainfall we had across Yorkshire.

“We’re always asking our customers to reduce their usage where they can and allow their lawns to go brown, not wash the car for a few weeks and turn the taps off when they’re brushing their teeth to stop waste and reduce the likelihood of restrictions later in the summer.

“We’re working around the clock to move water around our network of pipes to keep taps flowing and we’re doing our bit to save water where we can too. Our team of leakage inspectors are out and about across Yorkshire, working hard to save water from leaky pipes, and are prioritising larger leaks.”

Hosepipe bans take effect today in Hampshire, with Kent and Surrey to follow next week. This morning, it was announced that a further ban will be applied in south-west Wales from Friday, August 19.

Read more:

• ‘Use water wisely’ plea as reservoir levels drop in Harrogate district
• Firefighters called to blaze at factory in Birstwith

Landscape photographer Bernard Smith has shot a magnificent series of photographs capturing the beauty of Nidderdale.

Mr Smith lives in Sherburn In Elmet but spends a lot of time in the Yorkshire Dales, Nidderdale and the Lake District with his camera.

He kindly sent us images of the war memorial at Middlesmoor, Scar House Reservoir dam and a landscape shot taken between Middlesmoor and Scar House.

He said:

“I’m a keen amateur landscape photographer, this helps me combine my love of the great outdoors, walking and exploring.”

Scar House Reservoir dam. Pic by Bernard Smith

Between Middlesmoor and Scar House. Pic by Bernard Smith

If you have any photographs of the Harrogate district you’re proud of, send them to us at contact@thestrayferret.co.uk.

People are being invited to submit memories, photos and documents relating to Scar House reservoir, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary.

When the reservoir was built, it was seen as one of the most ambitious civil engineering projects in Britain.

It was the focal point of the Nidd Valley reservoir scheme, and had a huge impact on Nidderdale, with hundreds of workers moving to the area to work on the scheme.

A temporary village called Scar was built to house the workforce and their families during the construction of the reservoir from 1921 to 1936. At its peak, the village housed 1,250 people.

The village had luxuries, such as flushing toilets and a 600-seat cinema. It had its own tennis courts, a fire brigade, hospital and fish and chip shop. A 13 mile (21km) light railway from Pateley Bridge was also installed.

Read more:

• Yorkshire Water’s grim outlook for Fewston Reservoir in 50 years
• New bee-friendly habitats for Fewston, Swinsty and Thruscross reservoirs

Elizabeth Bishop, information officer at Nidderdale AONB, said:

“As the village buildings were sold off and dismantled in the 1930s, nothing much remains of this special place. It would be fantastic if more information came to light on this anniversary to help tell more of its fascinating story.”

The reservoir, which supplies water to Bradford, is now owned by Yorkshire Water.

Lisa Harrowsmith, lead surveyor at Yorkshire Water, said:

“We would love to hear from you if you have family members who were involved in the construction at Scar House, or were affected by it. We’re looking for stories, photographs and any memorabilia relating to the construction or early years of the reservoirs life, to help us celebrate its 100^th anniversary.

“The world is very different to when work began to build Scar House 100 years ago – but despite the reservoir’s age, it continues to play a key role in the water process.”

If you’d like to get involved in marking the centenary or have information you’d like to share, contact Nidderdale AONB at nidderdaleaonb@harrogate.gov.uk