| Millbrook Reservoir | |
|---|---|
| The reservoir's eastern end. | |
| Location | South Australia |
| Lake type | Reservoir |
| Basin countries | Australia |
| Surface area | 1.78 km² |
Millbrook Reservoir is a 16,000 Megalitre artificial water storage reservoir in the Adelaide Hills, South Australia. It was built during from 1914–1918 during World War I to control water flows in the upper River Torrens and provide gravity fed water to Adelaide's eastern suburbs. It is named after the small town of Millbrook, demolished and removed during construction. During the 1970s the nearby town of Chain Of Ponds, South Australia was also removed to prevent pollution of the reservoir's water.[1]
Millbrook covers 178 hectares (440 acres) behind a 288 metres (945 ft) clay-cored earth dam.[1] It lies on Chain of Ponds creek, a tributary of the River Torrens. Water in the reservoir is piped from a weir near Gumeracha but it is also used to balance storage of River Murray water via the Mannum–Adelaide pipeline. It is used to capture approximately half of the Torrens' water flow.[2]
John Tippett named the town of Millbrook in the late 19th century after Millbrook in his native Cornwall.[3] The settlement was a suburb of Adelaide.