The reservoir was originally built by the Southwark and Vauxhall Waterworks Company in 1896 for pre-treatment water storage.

[1] It has an area of 6.8 acres (2.74 ha),[2] is 35 ft (11 m)[1] deep and has a capacity of 292 Megalitres.

The walls of the reservoir are made from 3 ft (1 m) of puddle clay.

[1] The reservoir is now used as a settlement lagoon for washwater from the adjacent treatment works before the water is discharged back to the River Thames.

There was an idea to build a bridge for cyclists and pedestrians over the river adjacent to the reservoir in 2002, but this was very expensive and was not progressed.