A
leat (also
lete or
leet, or
millstream) is the name, common in the south and west of England and in
Wales (
Lade in
Scotland), for an artificial
watercourse or
aqueduct dug into the ground, especially one supplying water to a
watermill or its
mill pond. Other common uses for leats include delivery of water for mineral washing and concentration, for irrigation, to serve a dye works or other industrial plant, and provision of drinking water to a farm or household or as a catchment cut-off to improve the yield of a
reservoir.