Laxey of the Isle of Man, was built in 1854 to pump water from the Laxey mine shafts. Now a tourist attraction, it remains the largest working waterwheel in the world. Designed by Robert Casement, it is in diameter and wide. It revolves at about 3 rpm. The mines employed over 600 miners at their peak, producing lead, copper, silver and zinc, until they closed in 1929. The Wheel was owned by Edwin Kneale from 1939 to 1965; he saved it from being dismantled and ran it as a tourist attraction, before passing it on to the Manx nation, with the
The WaterWheel Foundation non-native species. Over half of the lake is considered to be too polluted to be of full use, and yet sees over $1 billion in tourism each year. Fellow Vermonters Ben & Jerry's approached the band in 1995 regarding a flavor called "Phish Food"; Phish decided that they would donate all royalties to help Lake Champlain. WaterWheel has given away over $1 million to 29 organizations working on issues affecting Lake Champlain covering a wide variety of issues: land conservation, environmental advocacy, activism, education, and so forth. Phish drummer Jon Fishman said the band was inspired to found the Waterwheel