Prospect Reservoir
Prospect reservoir is a water storage reservoir located at the headwaters of Prospect Creek in the Greater Western Sydney suburb of Prospect, in New South Wales, Australia. The dam wall is known as Prospect Dam[1].
History of the site
Shortly after 1808, William Lawson was appointed aide-de-camp to George Johnston and was granted 500 acres at prospect, which he named Vereran Hall. He built a 40-room mansion there. He died on the property on 16 June 1850 and the property eventually became aquired by the Metropolitan Water Board. The house was demolised in 1926 and most of the property is submerged. [2].
Construction
The dam itself was the first earthfill embankment dam in Australia, being completed in 1888. At the time it was intended to deliver water to the reservoir from the Nepean River.
In May 1940 the reservoir becam a part of the Warragamba Emergency Scheme. Pipes were constructed to delivere water 26 kilometers from Warragamba. [3].
Continuing use
Since the Prospect Water Filtration Plant was completed in 1996, untreated water is generally not drawn from Prospect reservoir any more. Instead, the water is piped to the filtration plant directly from Warragamba Dam. The reservoir remains a part of Sydney Water's storage network, however it is anticipated that it will only be utilised for water supply purposes on average of five days in any five year period [4]. As the site attracts up to half a million visitors annually, recreational use of the site is carefully managed to ensure the water remains suitable for supplementing Sydney Water's requirements.
See also
References
- ^ "Prospect dam". Geographical Names Board of New South Wales. Retrieved 2006-08-29.
- ^ E. W. Dunlop. "Lawson, William (1774 - 1850)". Australian Dictionary of Biography, online edition. Australian National University. Retrieved 2006-08-29.
- ^ "Prospect Reservoir". Dams & Water. Sydney Catchment Authority. Retrieved 2006-08-29.
- ^
Prof Alistair Gilmour. "Review of Recreational Access to Prospect Reservoir,". Adaptive Management at the Graduate School of the Environment (Macquarie University, Sydney). Retrieved 2006-08-29.
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