Abberton Reservoir

Abberton Reservoir is a freshwater storage reservoir in eastern England near the Essex coast. It is the largest freshwater body in the county and the fourth largest reservoir in England, with an area of 700 hectares . It is a pumped storage reservoir, with water pumped into it from the River Stour. It lies 6 km south-west of Colchester near the village of Layer de la Haye. It is owned and managed by Essex and Suffolk Water, part of Northumbrian Water Group. Plans to increase the capacity of Abberton reservoir to 41,000 megalitres by raising its bank height were completed in 2013.

The reservoir is important for its breeding cormorants, wintering and moulting waterfowl, and migrating birds. It is an internationally important wetland, designated as a Ramsar site, Site of Special Scientific Interest and Special Protection Area, and it is listed in the Nature Conservation Review. A small part of the site is managed by the Essex Wildlife Trust.

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