In this case the banks were raised above the local ground level using material excavated from within the bowl of the reservoir.

The water improves in quality during its retention in the reservoir as solids settle and organic contaminants are adsorbed and degraded through a combination of natural biological processes aided by sunlight and oxygenation.

As well as Oxford and other localities, Farmoor supplies the town of Swindon, some 25 miles (40 km) to the southwest via a trunk main installed in 1986.

[2] [6] A report in 2018 suggested that if the reservoir's abstraction point from the Thames was moved 23 km downstream to Abingdon then a better water quality could be achieved.

[4] The reservoir is used for sports: fishing (especially fly-fishing for rainbow and brown trout), dinghy sailing, windsurfing and stand up paddle boarding.

The Farmoor Water Treatment Works are located on the eastern side of the reservoir just north of the causeway.