Wraysbury Reservoir

Wraysbury Reservoir is a water supply reservoir for London, just west of the M25 near the village of Wraysbury, and directly under the western approach path of Heathrow Airport. The reservoir was begun in 1967 and completed by W. & C. French in 1970[2] with a capacity of 34,000 million litres.[3]

Wraysbury Reservoir
Wraysbury Reservoir from the air, looking south
Location	Surrey
Coordinates	51°27′39.7″N 0°31′25.2″W
Type	reservoir
Basin countries	United Kingdom
Surface area	2.05 square kilometres (0.79 sq mi)
Water volume	34 Gl (7.5×10^^9 imp gal)

Wraysbury Reservoir

Site of Special Scientific Interest
Area of Search	Surrey
Grid reference	TQ 025 745[1]
Interest	Biological
Area	205.6 hectares (508 acres)[1]
Notification	1999[1]
Location map	Magic Map

Engineering design data for the Wraysbury reservoir is as follows.[4]

Parameter	Value
Top water level above ordnance datum	31.1 m
Volume of water storage	35 million m^3
Maximum depth of water	21 m
Water area	202 ha
Maximum height of bank above ground	17 m
Perimeter of bank	5,700 m

The reservoir is owned and operated by Thames Water; 400 million litres of water are pumped daily from an inlet at Datchet on the River Thames. A neighbouring reservoir is the King George VI Reservoir, opened in 1947, which is supplied from Hythe End. To keep the grass short and make inspections easier, Thames Water maintains a flock of sheep on the earthen banks.[5]

It is a 205.6-hectare (508-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest[1][6] and part of South West London Waterbodies Ramsar site[7] and Special Protection Area.[8] It has nationally important numbers of wintering cormorants, great crested grebe and shovelers. It also supports many gadwalls.[9]

See also

• London water supply infrastructure

References

1. "Designated Sites View: Wraysbury Reservoir". Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
2. "The Queen Mother Reservoir, Datchet" (PDF). Ground Engineering. October 1976. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
3. Spelthorne Borough Council - Three Rivers Ramble
4. Bell, F. G. (1979). Engineering Geology and Geotechnics. Butterworth-Heinemann Ltd. p. 270. ISBN 9780408003551.
5. "The real-life reservoir dogs (press release)". PR Newswire. Thames Water. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
6. "Map of Wraysbury Reservoir". Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
7. "Designated Sites View: South West London Waterbodies". Ramsar Site. Natural England. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
8. "Designated Sites View: South West London Waterbodies". Special Protection Areas. Natural England. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
9. "Wraysbury Reservoir citation" (PDF). Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 21 November 2018.