Devonport Leat


The Devonport Leat is a leat in Devon constructed in the 1790s to carry fresh drinking water from the high ground of Dartmoor to the expanding dockyards at Plymouth Dock.

Feedwaters

It is fed by five Dartmoor rivers: the West Dart, the Cowsic, the Hart Tor Brook, the River Meavy and the Blackabrook.

Construction

Dartmoor granite was used to construct the water channel, as well as a small aqueduct and a tunnel.

Historic changes

It was originally designed to carry water all the way to Plymouth Dock, a total distance of, but has since been shortened and the operational part of the leat now stops near the Burrator Reservoir dam. Some of the water goes through underground pipes to the water treatment works at Dousland; the rest goes into the Burrator Reservoir which provides most of the water supply of Plymouth. For part of the route to Dousland the pipes follow the routes of the old Plymouth Leat and of the disused Yelverton to Princetown Railway. Before the piped supply to Dousland was installed, the water was used for a hydroelectric turbine near Yelverton Reservoir and fed by a pipe.

Route

The Devonport Leat begins a short distance to the north of Wistman's Wood at an altitude of over and twice passes close to Two Bridges before heading towards Princetown. Its water supply now ends up in Burrator Reservoir. It follows a meandering path across the moor, carefully selected by engineers to follow the natural contours of the land.