King George V Reservoir

Infobox lake
lake_name = King George V Reservoir
image_lake = King George V Reservoir.jpg
caption_lake = Looking west across reservoir
image_bathymetry =
caption_bathymetry =
location = London Borough of Enfield
coords = coord|51.6499|N|0.0161|W|type:waterbody_region:GB|display=inline,title
type = reservoir
inflow =
outflow =
catchment =
basin_countries = United Kingdom
length =
width =
area = convert|170|ha|acre|abbr=on
depth =
max-depth = 7.5 m
volume = 12492 ml
residence_time =
shore =
elevation =
islands =
cities = The King George V Reservoir also known as King George's Reservoir is located in London Borough of Enfield and is part of Lee Valley Reservoir Chain that supply London with drinking water. The storage reservoir is bordered by Sewardstone and Chingford to the east and Brimsdown and Ponders End to the west and covering 420 acres (170 hectares), the largest in London. ["The Buildings of England" London 4: North pp 441 ISBN 0-14071048-3 Retrieved December 21 2007] Together with the William Girling Reservoir they are known collectively as the Chingford Reservoirs. The reservoir is owned and managed by Thames Water

History

The reservoir was conceived as part of an overall plan for the Lee Valley and was laid before the Royal Commission on Water Supply (Balfour Committee) in 1893. At this time the responsible authority was the East London Waterworks Company. However, under the Provisions of the Metropolis Water Act of 1902, the undertakings of this as well as seven other companies was transferred to the Metropolitan Water Board.

Construction was started in 1908 and completed in 1912. The reservoir was opened by H.M King George V in 1913 hence the name.

Description

The reservoir was formed by the construction of a continuous embankment on the floodplain of the River Lea at Chingford. It is divided into two compartments by an earth embankment that are connected by three large diameter culverts. The external grassed embankment consists of a central puddle clay core with shoulder filling comprising a mixture of river terraced gravels and alluvial deposits.

Located in the NW corner is the original inlet pumping station by W.B. Bryan and finished in red brick and Portland stone. Still "in situ" are three of the five gas-fuelled liquid-piston pumps designed by H A Humphrey. In 1970 these were made redundant by the installation of a vertical spindle electric pump. [ Smith. D "Civil Engineering Heritage" 2001 pp 69.70 ISBN 0727728768 Retrieved December 22 2007]

Ecology

The water is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). [ [http://www.english-nature.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/1001912.pdf English Nature] Retrieved December 21 2007 ] The reservoir is a major wintering ground for wildfowl and wetland birds and include nationally important numbers of some species. The water also form a moult refuge to a large population of wildfowl during the late summer months. A total of 85 wetland species have been recorded here in recent years.

Recreation

The reservoir is popular with birdwatchers, [ [http://www.thames-water.com/en_gb/Downloads/PDFs/Access_and_recreation.pdf Thames Water] Retrieved December 21 2007] and is home to the King George Sailing Club. Permits are required to visit water.

Water supply

Water is supplied to the reservoir from the New River and the River Lee Diversion. [ [http://paginas.fe.up.pt/~mjneves/publicacoes_files/data/es/ponencias/por_autor/pdf/10109.pdf pp3 Reservoir information] Retrieved December 21 2007]

Access

Vehicular access is at Lea Valley Road A110

*Ponders End railway station

* London Buses route 313

Literature

*"A Poacher's Tale". Told by A.T.Curtis. Related by Fred J Speakman. Several references to reservoir. ISBN 0713509694. Published 1960 by George Bell & Sons
*"An Edmonton Boy" By Terry Webb. Reference to reservoir Page 36. ISBN 190398100X.Published 2000 by Biograph.

ee also

*London water supply infrastructure

References

External links

* [http://www.britishdams.org/2004conf/programme.htm British dams]
* [http://www.kgsc.org.uk/main/ King George Sailing Club]
* [http://www.steamengine.com.au/ic/history/humphrey_pumps/ The Humphrey pump]
* [http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/a2a/records.aspx?cat=098-hahumphrey&cid=14 National Archives-H A Humphrey]