South Para Reservoir is the second largest

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 ...

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 ...

, behind

Mount Bold Reservoir Mount Bold Reservoir is the largest reservoir in South Australia with a maximum capacity of over forty-six thousand megalitres. Costing A$1.1 million, the reservoir took six years to construct on the Onkaparinga River system between 1932 and 19 ...

, and the principal reservoir of the

South Para River The South Para River is a river located in the Mount Lofty Ranges northeast of Adelaide in the Australian state of South Australia. The river's name is based directly on the Kaurna word ''pari'' which means river. The "south" descriptor distin ...

system. The reservoir's large capacity of around 45,330 megalitres and its location in the catchment area mean that it only ever fills completely once in every five years. Costing A$6.4 million, the reservoir took almost a decade to construct, between 1949 and 1958, due to a demand on resources in the post-war boom. The building of the historic

Mannum–Adelaide pipeline The Mannum–Adelaide pipeline is a water pipeline in South Australia. It was the first major pipeline built from the River Murray to serve Adelaide. The pipeline project was started in 1949 and completed in March 1955. After suffering water res ...

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 ...

to the water-short 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 ...

was a key delay in South Para's construction; that pipeline today disperses water into the reservoir. The Reservoir is surrounded by nature reserve and has been a focus for two major revegetation projects, the first in the late 1950s when over 5000 trees and shrubs were planted, and the second as part of the South Australian Government's "Million Trees" initiative. In 1979 the mutilated body of 17-year-old Alan Barnes was found after being dumped in the South Para Reservoir. His murder, one of the five cases known as

The Family Murders The Family Murders is the name given to a series of five murders speculated to have been committed by a loosely connected group of individuals who came to be known as "The Family". This group was believed to be involved in the kidnapping and se ...

remains unsolved. *Capacity: 45,330 ML *Length of wall: 284 m *Height of wall: 44.2 m *Type of wall: rolled fill

Gallery

File:South Para spillway.jpg, The Reservoir's spillway File:South Parra Reservoir bridge.jpg, Bridge over spillway File:South Para from hill lookout-merged.jpg, Panoramic view of South Para Reservoir and its bushland surrounds. File:South_Parra_Reservoir_panorama_3.jpg, Water levels in September 2009 File:South Parra Reservoir panorama 1.jpg, South Para Reservoir File:South_Parra_Reservoir_panorama_2.jpg, South Para Reservoir

References

External links

SA Water: Water Storage (Reservoirs)
{{reservoirs in South Australia Dams completed in 1958 Dams in South Australia Reservoirs in South Australia

Gallery

See also

References

External links