A VICTORIAN engineer who pioneered the supply of fresh drinking water in the region is to have his own lasting tribute at a waterways museum.

John Frederick Bateman designed and built the Longdendale Valley chain of reservoirs to provide Manchester's first drinking water in the 1850s.

One of his giant valves that regulated the water flow for more than 140 years is to be displayed.

It will be unveiled at Portland Basin Museum, Ashton under Lyne.