Despite strenuous debate amongst aldermen regarding the best solution, and continual conflict between council and parliament over control, the new water supply system from Enoggera Dam was constructed by the Brisbane Board of Waterworks and their engineer Joseph Brady in 1863–1866.

Although Brisbane Mayor Thomas Blacket Stephens proposed a service reservoir on Windmill Hill (Wickham Terrace) as early as 1862, this was postponed for financial reasons until 1871, when the water pressure was already inadequate due to population expansion and increased consumption.

Other improvements were made in the water supply system which coped with the population boom of the 1880s, including the building of the Gold Creek Dam in 1885–1886, and of the Highgate Hill service reservoir which was of mass concrete rather than arched brick walls in 1889.

This resulted in reconditioning of the reservoirs in 1904–1905, including reconnection with the original Enoggera watermain, and the provision of roofs to prevent the growth of algae, a spray inlet, a floating outlet and a relief valve for the Mount Crosby supply.

The Spring Hill reservoirs remained an integral part of the Brisbane water supply system until 3 September 1962 when the watermain was shut down, unable to serve an increasingly highrise inner city due to their comparatively small capacity and low elevation.

Built of brick before the age of concrete, this type of construction was necessary to withstand external pressure, while the inside walls were rendered to obviate ground water infiltration.

The service reservoirs, which were built to store water from the Enoggera Dam and improve pressure within the city, played a most important role in Brisbane's first reticulated gravity supply system for the best part of a century.

The Spring Hill service reservoirs are an historic expression of demographic growth, improvement in living standards and local politics in Brisbane during the years of early self-government.

In Australian context there are important differences in form, material and dating between each of the above reservoirs; but their similarities, particularly between Spring Hill and Adelaide, are such that the former may be treated as a significant example of its type.

As an important part of the Enoggera waterworks system, and a simple but handsome solution to the problem of an adequate water supply, the reservoirs represent both a technical and a creative achievement of the Colonial era.