From filtration plant to sailing centre
Stoke Newington West Reservoir Centre
This filtration plant used to purify the water brought to Stoke Newington by the New River.
Hackney Council took over the redundant west reservoir and filtration plant from Thames Water in 1996. Since then the lake and buildings have been converted into a centre for watersports.
Two stage purification
Originally the water was purified in two stages. The filtration plant worked in conjunction with the nearby filter beds which have now been built over.
Pumps raised the water from the filter beds to tanks higher up the building. Then the water flowed down through rapid-sand filters to remove impurities.
Today visitors to the centre can still see the control panel with the ammeters that monitored the electric current flowing through the pumps.
Submitted by: Andrew Hunt, 20 January 2007
