Wraysbury Reservoir

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

Wraysbury Reservoir
Wraysbury Reservoir
	Wraysbury Reservoir from the air, looking south
	Wraysbury Reservoir
Location	Surrey
Coordinates	51°27′39.7″N 0°31′25.2″W / 51.461028°N 0.523667°W
Type	reservoir
Basin countries	United Kingdom
Surface area	2.05 square kilometres (0.79 sq mi)
Water volume	34 Gl (7.5×109 imp gal)

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^[2] with a capacity of 34,000 million litres (8,000 million gallons).^[3]

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 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.^[5]

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.^[6]

It is a 205.6-hectare (508-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest^[1]^[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]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Designated Sites View: Wraysbury Reservoir". Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
^ "The Queen Mother Reservoir, Datchet" (PDF). Ground Engineering. October 1976. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
^ Spelthorne Borough Council - Three Rivers Ramble
^ Bell, F. G. (1979). Engineering Geology and Geotechnics. Butterworth-Heinemann Ltd. p. 270. ISBN 9780408003551.
^ "The real-life reservoir dogs (press release)". PR Newswire. Thames Water. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
^ "Calibration and characterisation of sonar transducers and systems | The UK Marine Science and Technology Compendium". naqbase.noc.ac.uk. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
^ "Map of Wraysbury Reservoir". Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
^ "Designated Sites View: South West London Waterbodies". Ramsar Site. Natural England. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
^ "Designated Sites View: South West London Waterbodies". Special Protection Areas. Natural England. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
^ "Wraysbury Reservoir citation" (PDF). Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 21 November 2018.

[dsv-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.

[The_real-life_reservoir_dogs_(press_release)-5] "The real-life reservoir dogs (press release)". PR Newswire. Thames Water. Retrieved 4 December 2016.

[6] "Calibration and characterisation of sonar transducers and systems | The UK Marine Science and Technology Compendium". naqbase.noc.ac.uk. Retrieved 2 October 2022.

[map-7] "Map of Wraysbury Reservoir". Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 21 November 2018.

[8] "Designated Sites View: South West London Waterbodies". Ramsar Site. Natural England. Retrieved 9 November 2018.

[9] "Designated Sites View: South West London Waterbodies". Special Protection Areas. Natural England. Retrieved 9 November 2018.

[10] "Wraysbury Reservoir citation" (PDF). Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 21 November 2018.

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v t e Thames Water
History	John Backhouse Joseph Bazalgette Edmund Colthurst Great Stink London sewer system London water supply Metropolitan Board of Works Metropolitan Water Board Hugh Myddelton William Chadwell Mylne New River Company New River John Snow William Webster 1854 Broad Street cholera outbreak
Major projects	Abingdon Reservoir Thames Tideway Scheme, including Thames Tideway Tunnel and Lee Tunnel Thames Gateway Water Treatment Works Thames Water Ring Main
Infrastructure	Abbey Mills Pumping Station Beckton Sewage Treatment Works Coppermills Water Treatment Works Cricklewood Pumping Station Crossness Pumping Station Crossness Sewage Treatment Works Deephams Sewage Treatment Works Greenwich pumping station Hampton Water Treatment Works Mogden Sewage Treatment Works Walton water treatment works
Reservoirs	Banbury Reservoir Bath Road Reservoir Bessborough Reservoir Chingford Reservoirs East Warwick Reservoir Farmoor Reservoir Grimsbury Reservoir High Maynard Reservoir Island Barn Reservoir Kempton Park Reservoirs King George V Reservoir King George VI Reservoir Knight Reservoir Lee Valley Reservoir Chain Lockwood Reservoir Low Maynard Reservoir Molesey Reservoirs Queen Elizabeth II Reservoir Queen Mary Reservoir Queen Mother Reservoir Stain Hill Reservoirs Staines Reservoirs Sunnyside Reservoir Tilehurst Water Tower Walthamstow Reservoirs West Warwick Reservoir William Girling Reservoir Wraysbury Reservoir

v t e Hydrology of Surrey
Main rivers	River Blackwater River Colne Cranleigh Waters River Mole River Ock River Thames River Tillingbourne River Wey
Canals and navigations	Basingstoke Canal Wey and Arun Canal Wey and Godalming Navigations
Ordinary watercourses	Abbey River River Ash River Bourne, Addlestone River Bourne, Chertsey Cobblers Brook River Eden River Ember Hogsmill River Law Brook Pipp Brook The Rye The Rythe Windle Brook Wish Stream Wraysbury River
Lakes, ponds and wetlands	Busbridge Lakes Claremont Landscape Garden Enton Lakes Frensham Ponds Gatton Park Goldsworth Park Hedgecourt Henfold Lakes Kempton Park Racecourse Lakeside Leisure Complex McLaren Technology Centre Mercers Country Park Painshill Sherbourne Pond Silent Pool Papercourt Marshes Silvermere Sutton Place Thorpe Park No 1 Gravel Pit Virginia Water Lake Winkworth Arboretum
Reservoirs	Bessborough Reservoir Island Barn Reservoir Kempton Park Reservoirs King George VI Reservoir Knight Reservoir Molesey Reservoirs Queen Elizabeth II Reservoir Queen Mary Reservoir Stain Hill Reservoirs Staines Reservoirs Wraysbury Reservoir
Categories: Rivers, Canals

See also

References