It was built in 2009, when the Bow Back Rivers were refurbished to make them a key feature of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, and maintains water levels through much of the park in conjunction with the Three Mills Lock and sluice on the Prescott Channel.

[2] As part of the 1930s scheme, Three Mills Back River was filled in, and a flood relief channel called Prescott Channel was built which enabled flood flows to bypass the mills when required.

[1] The sluice on the Prescott Channel seized up in the 1960s[3] but with the mills no longer operating, it was effectively redundant and was subsequently removed.

[5] As part of the regeneration of the area connected with the 2012 London Olympics, plans were developed for the refurbishment of the rivers, to maintain them at an intermediate level.

[6] It was hoped that they could be used to deliver significant volumes of building materials for the construction of the stadium.