The supply of clean, soft water was of great importance to towns and cities in Britain during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries in helping to maintain a healthy population and the resources for industries. Leeds, West Yorkshire, was no exception to this, with the Leeds Corporation looking north of the town to the Washburn Valley in the 1860s for a new supply of water to replace the polluted waters of the Rivers Aire and Wharfe. The construction of four reservoirs in the valley, three between 1869 and 1879, and a further one built between 1961 and 1966, irrevocably altered the natural environment. This article will examine this environmental change by focussing on two case studies: the village of Fewston, which was largely damaged by land subsidence one year after the completion of the original three reservoirs in 1880, and the construction of Thruscross Reservoir and the flooding of West End village in the 1960s, in order to highlight how the actions of a municipal body impacted on the natural environment and the lives of those that lived upon it.

中文翻译：

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两个约克郡村庄的故事：英国水库开发对当地环境的影响，c.1866–1966

在 19 世纪和 20 世纪，清洁软水的供应对英国的城镇和城市非常重要，有助于维持健康的人口和工业资源。西约克郡的利兹也不例外，利兹公司在 1860 年代从城镇北部到沃什伯恩山谷寻找新的水源，以取代艾尔河和码头的受污染水域。在山谷中建造了四个水库，三个在 1869 年至 1879 年之间，另一个在 1961 年至 1966 年之间建造，不可逆转地改变了自然环境。本文将通过关注两个案例研究来检验这种环境变化：在 1880 年最初的三个水库建成一年后，Fewston 村因地面沉降而受到严重破坏，