Little Para Reservoir is a
reservoir
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 contro ...
in
South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...
serving the city of
Adelaide
Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
. It was built between 1974 and 1977, costing A$11.5 million, and commissioned in January 1979.
The reservoir is built in the path of the
Little Para River
The Little Para River is a seasonal creek running across the Adelaide Plains in the Australian state of South Australia, whose catchment fills reservoirs that supply some of the water needs of Adelaide’s northern suburbs.
Course and features
...
and is used for water storage and flood mitigation. As the Little Para's catchment is insufficient to fill the reservoir, it is mainly used to store water pumped from the
River Murray
The Murray River (in South Australia: River Murray) (Ngarrindjeri: ''Millewa'', Yorta Yorta: ''Tongala'') is a river in Southeastern Australia. It is Australia's longest river at extent. Its tributaries include five of the next six longest ...
.
Periodically water is released from the reservoir into the river, enabling refreshing of
ground water
Groundwater is the water present beneath Earth's surface in rock and soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. About 30 percent of all readily available freshwater in the world is groundwater. A unit of rock or an unconsolidated ...
.
Overlooking the reservoir is a public park with tennis courts, playgrounds, public toilets and information about the initial construction of the dam. Although much of the current amenities have fallen into disarray due lack of maintenance and public abuse.
2008 upgrade
In June 2008 the reservoir was closed to the public so the dam wall could be strengthened and increased by . Construction of a new
fusegate spillway system was also carried out. Complaints were raised that "millions of litres of water"
were released into the ocean until the reservoir was at 68 percent to enable the construction to proceed.
the reservoir is closed to the public, due to the 2008 upgrade.
See also
*
List of reservoirs and dams in Australia
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* SC Germania List, German rugby union ...
References
{{reservoirs in South Australia
Dams completed in 1977
Dams in South Australia
Reservoirs in South Australia