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Staines Reservoirs
The Staines Reservoirs are two large pumped storage reservoirs sitting to the east of the King George VI Reservoir near Heathrow airport in Surrey within the Colne Valley regional park. The village of Stanwell is mainly to the north east, and the town of Staines is to the south. Both adjoin, west, the A3044. The south one adjoins the A30 where the road is bypassed by the intra-M25 motorway network but is a trunk road, maintained by National Highways. They were completed in 1902. History For reliable and plentiful water supplies, three London water companies resolved to construct and operate two large reservoirs at seasonally waterlogged land partly in the parish of Staines, otherwise in Stanwell. These would be pumped storage reservoirs to hold water abstracted from the Thames receiving it from an aqueduct, then delivering it by another to treatment works for their supply pipes. The three were the New River Company, the Grand Junction Water Company and the West Middlesex ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Surrey
Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. With a population of approximately 1.2 million people, Surrey is the 12th-most populous county in England. The most populated town in Surrey is Woking, followed by Guildford. The county is divided into eleven districts with borough status. Between 1893 and 2020, Surrey County Council was headquartered at County Hall, Kingston-upon-Thames (now part of Greater London) but is now based at Woodhatch Place, Reigate. In the 20th century several alterations were made to Surrey's borders, with territory ceded to Greater London upon its creation and some gained from the abolition of Middlesex. Surrey is bordered by Greater London to the north east, Kent to the east, Berkshire to the north west, West Sussex to the south, East Sussex to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thames Water Authority
The Thames Water Authority was one of ten regional water authorities created in the UK on 1 April 1974 under the provisions of the Water Act 1973 to bring together all the water management functions of the region in one public body. Predecessors The bodies subsumed by the Thames Water Authority included the Metropolitan Water Board, the Thames Conservancy, the Lee Conservancy Catchment Board and parts of the Essex and Kent River authorities. It also took over water and sewage responsibility from the following water suppliers in the Thames catchment: * Colne Valley Water Company * Cotswold Water Board * Croydon Corporation * East Surrey Water Company * Epsom and Ewell Corporation * Lee Valley Water Company * Mid Southern Water Company * Middle Thames Water Board * Oxfordshire and District Water Board * Rickmansworth and Uxbridge Valley Water Company * South West Suburban Water Company * Sutton District Water Company * Swindon Corporation * Thames Valley Water Board * Watf ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thames Water Reservoirs
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the River Severn. The river rises at Thames Head in Gloucestershire, and flows into the North Sea near Tilbury, Essex and Gravesend, Kent, via the Thames Estuary. From the west it flows through Oxford (where it is sometimes called the Isis), Reading, Henley-on-Thames and Windsor. The Thames also drains the whole of Greater London. In August 2022, the source of the river moved five miles to beyond Somerford Keynes due to the heatwave in July 2022. The lower reaches of the river are called the Tideway, derived from its long tidal reach up to Teddington Lock. Its tidal section includes most of its London stretch and has a rise and fall of . From Oxford to the Estuary the Thames drops by 55 metres. Running through some of the drier parts of mai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reservoirs In Surrey
A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of water, interrupting a watercourse to form an embayment within it, through excavation, or building any number of retaining walls or levees. In other contexts, "reservoirs" may refer to storage spaces for various fluids; they may hold liquids or gasses, including hydrocarbons. ''Tank reservoirs'' store these in ground-level, elevated, or buried tanks. Tank reservoirs for water are also called cisterns. Most underground reservoirs are used to store liquids, principally either water or petroleum. Types Dammed valleys Dammed reservoirs are artificial lakes created and controlled by a dam constructed across a valley, and rely on the natural topography to provide most of the basin of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
London Water Supply Infrastructure
London's water supply infrastructure has developed over the centuries in line with the expansion of London. For much of London's history, private companies supplied fresh water to various parts of London from wells, the River Thames and the River Lea. Further demand prompted new conduits and sources, particularly when the Agricultural and Industrial Revolution caused a boom in London's population and housing. A crisis point was reached in the mid 19th century with the understanding that cholera and other disease arose from the extraction of water from the increasingly polluted tidal Thames. The Metropolis Water Act 1852 banned this practice, allowing water companies three years to find other sources. The 20th century saw consolidation of water suppliers and a substantial investment in London's water infrastructure as the population grew. London's water suppliers (known also as undertakings) were nationalised as the Metropolitan Water Board and then subsequently re-privatised ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Queen Mary Reservoir
The Queen Mary Reservoir is one of the largest of London's reservoirs supplying fresh water to London and parts of surrounding counties, and is located in the Borough of Spelthorne in Surrey. The reservoir covers and is above the surrounding area. Location Queen Mary Reservoir is located south of Ashford and east of Laleham. It lies south of the A308 and at its closest point northwest of the M3 motorway. Heathrow airport is 3.7 miles north of the reservoir. The reservoir was formerly designated as being in the county of Middlesex. In 1965 Staines and Sunbury-on-Thames Urban Districts were transferred to the county of Surrey. The Borough of Spelthorne was formed in 1974 incorporating Staines and Sunbury-on-Thames Urban Districts. The reservoir is now designated as part of the county of Surrey. History Construction of the Littleton Reservoir was authorised under the provisions of the ''Metropolitan Water Board (Various Powers) Act 1921'' (11 & 12 Geo. 5, c.cxv). It was desi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Common Goldeneye
The common goldeneye or simply goldeneye (''Bucephala clangula'') is a medium-sized sea duck of the genus ''Bucephala'', the goldeneyes. Its closest relative is the similar Barrow's goldeneye. The genus name is derived from the Ancient Greek ''boukephalos'' ("bullheaded", from ''bous'', "bull " and ''kephale'', "head"), a reference to the bulbous head shape of the bufflehead. The species name is derived from the Latin ''clangere'' ("to resound"). Common goldeneyes are aggressive and territorial ducks, and have elaborate courtship displays. Description Adult males ranges from and weigh approximately , while females range from and weigh approximately . The common goldeneye has a wingspan of 30.3-32.7 in (77-83 cm). The species is named for its golden-yellow eye. Adult males have a dark head with a greenish gloss and a circular white patch below the eye, a dark back and a white neck and belly. Adult females have a brown head and a mostly grey body. Their legs and feet are ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Goosander
The common merganser (North American) or goosander (Eurasian) (''Mergus merganser'') is a large seaduck of rivers and lakes in forested areas of Europe, Asia, and North America. The common merganser eats mainly fish. It nests in holes in trees. Taxonomy The first formal description of the common merganser was by Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the 10th edition of his ''Systema Naturae''. He introduced the current binomial name ''Mergus merganser''. The genus name is a Latin word used by Pliny and other Roman authors to refer to an unspecified waterbird, and ''merganser'' is derived from ''mergus'' and ''anser'', Latin for "goose". In 1843 John James Audubon used the name "Buff-breasted Merganser" in addition to "goosander" in his book ''The Birds of America''. The three subspecies differ in only minor detail: * ''M. m. merganser'' – Linnaeus, 1758 is found throughout northern Europe and northern Asiatic Russia. * ''M. m. orientalis'' – Gould, 1845 (syn. ''M. m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Common Pochard
The common pochard (; ''Aythya ferina'') is a medium-sized diving duck. The scientific name is derived from Greek '' aithuia'', an unidentified seabird mentioned by authors including Hesychius and Aristotle, and Latin ''ferina'', "wild game", from ''ferus'', "wild". Description The adult male has a long dark bill with a grey band, a red head and neck, a black breast, red eyes and a grey back. The adult female has a brown head and body and a narrower grey bill-band. The triangular head shape is distinctive. Pochards are superficially similar to the closely related North American redhead and canvasback. Females give hoarse growls. Males have whistles cut off by a final nasal note ''aaoo-oo-haa''. Distribution and habitat Their breeding habitat consists of marshes and lakes with a metre or more water depth. Pochards breed in much of temperate and northern Europe and across the Palearctic. They are migratory, and spend winter in the south and west of Europe. In the British Is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tufted Duck
The tufted duck or tufted pochard (''Aythya fuligula'') is a small diving duck with a population of close to one million birds, found in northern Eurasia. The scientific name is derived from Ancient Greek '' aithuia'', an unidentified seabird mentioned by authors including Hesychius and Aristotle, and ''Latin'' ''fuligo'' "soot" and ''gula'' "throat". Description The adult male is all black except for white flanks and a blue-grey bill with gold-yellow eyes, along with a thin crest on the back of its head. It has an obvious head tuft that gives the species its name. The adult female is brown with paler flanks, and is more easily confused with other diving ducks. In particular, some have white around the bill base which resembles the scaup species, although the white is never as extensive as in those ducks. The females' call is a harsh, growling "karr", mostly given in flight. The males are mostly silent but they make whistles during courtship based on a simple "wit-oo". The onl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
SSSI
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 of Man. SSSI/ASSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in the United Kingdom are based upon them, including national nature reserves, Ramsar sites, Special Protection Areas, and Special Areas of Conservation. The acronym "SSSI" is often pronounced "triple-S I". Selection and conservation Sites notified for their biological interest are known as Biological SSSIs (or ASSIs), and those notified for geological or physiographic interest are Geological SSSIs (or ASSIs). Sites may be divided into management units, with some areas including units that are noted for both biological and geological interest. Biological Biological SSSI/ASSIs may b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thames Water
Thames Water Utilities Ltd, known as Thames Water, is a large private utility company responsible for the public water supply and waste water treatment in most of Greater London, Luton, the Thames Valley, Surrey, Gloucestershire, north Wiltshire, far west Kent, and some other parts of England; it has a considerable local monopoly. Thames Water is the UK's largest water and wastewater services company, and supplies of drinking water per day, and treats of wastewater per day. The area covered by Thames Water has a population of 15 million, that comprise 27% of the UK population. Thames Water is responsible for a range of water management infrastructure projects including the Thames Water Ring Main around London; the Lee Tunnel; Europe's largest wastewater treatment works and the UK's first large-scale desalination plant, both at Beckton. Thames Water awarded Bazalgette Tunnel Ltd the contract to build the £4.2 billion London Tideway Tunnel Infrastructure proposals by Thames ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
