Low Maynard Reservoir is located in
Walthamstow in the
London Borough of Waltham Forest. The storage reservoir is part of the
Lee Valley Reservoir Chain
The Lee Valley Reservoir Chain is located in the Lee Valley, and comprises 13 reservoirs that supply drinking water to London.
The Reservoir Chain is a major geographic constraint; together with the Thames it is one of the two significant topogr ...
and supplies drinking water to
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
.
History
The reservoir was constructed in the mid 19th century by the
East London Waterworks Company on former
marshland
A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found at ...
. It is now owned and managed by
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 Wiltsh ...
.
Ecology
The reservoir is part of the
Walthamstow Reservoirs Site of Special Scientific Interest, and it supports a large concentration of breeding
wildfowl
The Anatidae are the biological family of water birds that includes ducks, geese, and swans. The family has a cosmopolitan distribution, occurring on all the world's continents except Antarctica. These birds are adapted for swimming, floating on ...
.
The fringes of the reservoir contain species of plants uncommon in
Greater London, including:
*
Caltha palustris Marsh-marigold
*
Schoenaoplectus lacustris Common Club-rush
*
Typha angustifolia
''Typha angustifolia'' L. (also lesser bulrush, narrowleaf cattail or lesser reedmace) is a perennial herbaceous plant of genus ''Typha''. This cattail is an "obligate wetland" species that is commonly found in the northern hemisphere in brackis ...
Lesser bulrush
*
Carex x subgracilis The 'graceful' sedge
Recreation
Access to the water, which is by permit only, 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 like binoculars or a telescope, by ...
,
walkers and
anglers.
[ Retrieved November 27, 2007]
See also
*
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 Rive ...
References
{{authority control
Sites of Special Scientific Interest in London
Thames Water reservoirs
Reservoirs in London
Drinking water reservoirs in England