Part of the city’s water supply and treatment infrastructure, it is located in the Palisades neighborhood, approximately two miles downstream from the Maryland–D.C.

The reservoir was built by the United States Army Corps of Engineers as part of the Washington Aqueduct project.

The reservoirs and the nearby Dalecarlia water treatment plant are operated by the Army Corps of Engineers.

At the outlet of the Georgetown facility is a sluice gate building that controls the flow of water into Washington City Tunnel, which leads to the McMillan Reservoir.

[3] Due to it´s distinctive shape and location, the reservoir basin serves as important landmark for the so called River Visual approach into the nearby Ronald Reagan National Airport.