Wraysbury Reservoir Explained
| Wraysbury Reservoir |
| Coords: | 51.461°N -0.5237°W |
| Pushpin Map: | Surrey |
| Pushpin Map Alt: | A map of Surrey with a mark indicating the location of Wraysbury Reservoir |
| Basin Countries: | United Kingdom |
| Volume: | 34Gl |
| Wraysbury Reservoir |
| Aos: | Surrey |
| Interest: | Biological |
| Area: | 205.6ha |
| Notifydate: | 1999 |
| Map: | Magic Map |
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. Construction of the reservoir was begun in 1967 and completed by W. & C. French in 1970[1] with a capacity of 34,000 million litres (8,000 million gallons).[2]
Engineering design data for the Wraysbury reservoir is as follows.[3]
| Parameter | Value |
|---|
| Top water level above ordnance datum | 31.1 m |
| Volume of water storage | 35 million m3 |
| 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 (100 million gallons) 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.
[4] The reservoir is the site of the National Physical Laboratory's Open-Water Test Facility, used by the Ministry of Defence for test and calibration of sonar systems, as well as civilian commercial customers.[5] It is a 205.6abbr=offNaNabbr=off biological Site of Special Scientific Interest[6] [7] and part of South West London Waterbodies Ramsar site[8] and Special Protection Area.[9] It has nationally important numbers of wintering cormorants, great crested grebe and shovelers. It also supports many gadwalls.[10]
See also
Notes and References
- Web site: The Queen Mother Reservoir, Datchet. Ground Engineering. October 1976. 14 September 2015.
- http://www.spelthorne.gov.uk/lei_three_rivers_ramble.htm Spelthorne Borough Council - Three Rivers Ramble
- Book: Bell, F. G.. Engineering Geology and Geotechnics. Butterworth-Heinemann Ltd. 1979. 9780408003551. 270.
- Web site: The real-life reservoir dogs (press release). PR Newswire. Thames Water. 4 December 2016.
- Web site: Calibration and characterisation of sonar transducers and systems The UK Marine Science and Technology Compendium . 2022-10-02 . naqbase.noc.ac.uk.
- Web site: Designated Sites View: Wraysbury Reservoir . Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. 21 November 2018.
- Web site: Map of Wraysbury Reservoir. Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. 21 November 2018.
- Web site: Designated Sites View: South West London Waterbodies . Ramsar Site. Natural England. 9 November 2018.
- Web site: Designated Sites View: South West London Waterbodies . Special Protection Areas . Natural England. 9 November 2018.
- Web site: Wraysbury Reservoir citation. Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. 21 November 2018.
