The Molesey Reservoirs were a group of reservoirs in England near Molesey, Surrey

Surrey

Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...

, in the western suburbs of London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

. There was an adjacent water treatment works.

The reservoirs were adjacent to the River Thames

River Thames

The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...

 on the south side on the reach above Molesey Lock

Molesey Lock

Molesey Lock is a lock on the River Thames in England at East Molesey, Surrey. It is near Hampton Court Palace to the west of London.The lock was built by the City of London Corporation in 1815 and is the second longest on the river at over 268 ft . Beside the lock there are rollers for the...

. They are between the river and the A3050 (Hurst Road). On the other side of this road are the neighbouring Bessborough Reservoir

Bessborough Reservoir

The Bessborough Reservoir lies to the south of the River Thames in Surrey near the Knight Reservoir and the Molesey Reservoirs. The A3050 runs to the north of the reservoir and the neighbouring town is Molesey...

 and Knight Reservoir

Knight Reservoir

The Knight Reservoir lies to the west of the Bessborough Reservoir, south of the River Thames and the A3050. The neighbouring town is Molesey....

, and beyond these the Queen Elizabeth II Reservoir

Queen Elizabeth II Reservoir

The Queen Elizabeth II Reservoir lies to the south of the River Thames and to the west of the Island Barn Reservoir. To the north are the reservoirs of Bessborough and Knight. The A3050 runs to the north of the reservoir and it is situated in Walton on Thames...

.

The reservoirs were established in 1872, by the Lambeth Waterworks Company

Lambeth Waterworks Company

The Lambeth Waterworks Company was a utility company supplying water to parts of south London in England. The company was established in 1785 with works in north Lambeth and became part of the publicly-owned Metropolitan Water Board in 1903.-Origins:...

 and three years later by the Chelsea Waterworks Company

Chelsea Waterworks Company

The Chelsea Waterworks Company was a London waterworks company founded in 1723 which supplied water to many central London locations throughout the 18th and 19th centuries until its functions were taken over by the Metropolitan Water Board in 1902....

. Both companies had previously built their reservoirs at Seething Wells

Seething Wells

Seething Wells is a locality of Surbiton in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames. It is the site of a former water treatment works on the south bank of the River Thames. Part of it was redeveloped in the early 21st century. The filter beds remain the property of Thames Water, via their...

 in Surbiton

Surbiton

Surbiton, a suburban area of London in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, is situated next to the River Thames, with a mixture of Art-Deco courts, more recent residential blocks and grand, spacious 19th century townhouses blending into a sea of semi-detached 20th century housing estates...

, but they sucked up too much mud with the water because of turbulence caused by the River Mole, River Ember

River Ember

The River Ember is a river in the county of Surrey, England. It is a distributary of the River Mole which splits in two at the Island Barn Reservoir to the South of East and West Molesey. The larger portion becomes the River Ember and flows in an easterly and then northerly direction around the...

 and The Rythe

The Rythe

The Rythe is a river in the county of Surrey, England. It is a tributary of the River Thames which it joins at Thames Ditton on the reach above Teddington Lock....

. They had pumping stations at Molesey to lift the water from the Thames into the reservoirs and there were concrete wharves on the river bank at which to unload coal to power the steam engines. Only the wharves remain by the riverside, being used for overnight mooring of pleasure cruisers.

The reservoirs were taken out of use in 1999. The land was then used for the extraction of aggregate

Construction Aggregate

Construction aggregate, or simply "aggregate", is a broad category of coarse particulate material used in construction, including sand, gravel, crushed stone, slag, recycled concrete and geosynthetic aggregates. Aggregates are the most mined material in the world...

s, and after the work is complete, it will be converted into a wetland

Wetland

A wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with water either permanently or seasonally. Wetlands are categorised by their characteristic vegetation, which is adapted to these unique soil conditions....

reserve.