Prospect Reservoir
Prospect Reservoir is located on Prospect Creek, approximately 35 kilometres west of Sydney. The dam was completed in 1888 and was the first earthfill embankment dam in Australia. Its original purpose was to store water fed by gravity from the dams of the Upper Nepean system via the Upper Canal.
From there the Lower Canal led to a basin at Guildford, from where water was piped to several reservoirs around the city.
Water from the Warragamba Emergency Scheme reached Prospect Reservoir in May 1940. The water was piped across Megarrity's Creek Bridge at Warragamba, and another 26 kilometres to Prospect Reservoir. When Warragamba Dam was completed in 1960, Prospect Reservoir continued to play an important role in storing Sydney's water supply.
A second pipeline, linking Warragamba and Prospect Reservoir was completed in 1966, significantly increasing the volume of water that could be transferred during peak demand periods.
Prospect Dam was strengthened by placing stabilising beams on the downstream face in 1979, and the upstream face in 1997.
Once Prospect Water Filtration Plant was commissioned in 1996, raw water transferred from Warragamba and the Upper Nepean dams was sent directly to the treatment facility, by-passing Prospect Reservoir.
However, Prospect Reservoir remains an integral part of Sydney's drinking water supply and is still needed in times of high demand for water. The filtration plant at Prospect can draw water directly from Prospect Reservoir, providing greater flexibilty in sourcing the best quality water.
