West Warwick Reservoir is located in the
London Borough of Waltham Forest
The London Borough of Waltham Forest () is an Outer London, outer London boroughs, London borough formed in 1965 from the merger of the municipal boroughs of Municipal Borough of Leyton, Leyton, Municipal Borough of Walthamstow, Walthamstow an ...
at
Walthamstow
Walthamstow ( or ) is a town within the London Borough of Waltham Forest in east London. The town borders Chingford to the north, Snaresbrook and South Woodford to the east, Leyton and Leytonstone to the south, and Tottenham to the west. At ...
. The storage reservoir is part of the
Lee Valley Reservoir Chain, which supplies drinking water to
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
. It is owned by
Thames Water.
History
In 1895, the East and West Warwick Reservoirs were completed and named after the Countess of Warwick, heiress of the local Maynard family, who sold the land to
East London Waterworks Company which constructed a series of reservoirs in the mid-19th century on former
marshland
In ecology, a marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous plants rather than by woody plants.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p More in general ...
.
Ecology
The reservoir is part of
Walthamstow Reservoirs
Walthamstow Wetlands is a nature reserve in Walthamstow, East London, east London, adjacent to the River Lea in the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It is focused on the Walthamstow Reservoirs, built by the East London Waterworks Company betwe ...
, which is a
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...
(SSSI).
Recreation
The reservoir is popular with
birdwatchers
Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device such as binoculars or a telescop ...
,
anglersAngling information
Retrieved December 7, 2007 and naturalists, but access is by permit only.
See also
* London water supply infrastructure
References
External links
Photograph of reservoir
{{authority control
Sites of Special Scientific Interest in London
Thames Water reservoirs
Reservoirs in London
Drinking water reservoirs in England