Prospect Reservoir

The Prospect Reservoir is a 50200ML potable water supply and storage reservoir created by the Prospect Dam, across the Prospect Creek located in the Western Sydney suburb of Prospect, in New South Wales, Australia. The eastern bounds of the reservoir are a recreational area and the western periphery are within the bounds of Western Sydney Parklands.HistoryShortly after 1808, William Lawson was appointed aide-de-camp to George Johnston and was granted 500acre at Prospect, which he named Veteran Hall. He built a large mansion there in the 1820s. He died on the property on 16 June 1850 and the property was eventually acquired by the Metropolitan Water Board. The house was demolished in 1929 and most of the low lying surrounding property is submerged.The dam was the first earthfill embankment dam in Australia and was completed in 1888. At the time it was intended to deliver water from the Upper Nepean Scheme via the Upper Canal to the reservoir. Prior to the completion of the Lower Canal, the water shortage still needed to be dealt with. Hudson Brothers of Clyde built a temporary raised pipe structure to deliver water from Prospect direct to the Botany Swamps.