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( Reservoir)
A reservoir is, most broadly, a place or hollow vessel where fluid is kept in reserve, for later use. Most often, a reservoir refers to an artificial lake, used to store water for various uses. Reservoirs are created first by building a sturdy dam, usually out of cement, earth, rock, or a mixture. Once the dam is completed, a stream is allowed to flow behind it and eventually fill it to capacity. When such a reservoir is predominantly man-made (rather than being an adaptation of a natural structure) it may be called a cistern. The term reservoir is also often used to describe underground reservoirs such as an oil or water well. There are two basic types of reservoir the commonly-seen dam across a valley, or the less-common fully-bunded dam. A fully water tower bunded dam has a continuous human made embankment around its entire perimeter, most commonly using a central clay core as the waterproof element. The core is held in place by earth or rock piled either side of it in suitable volumes to resist the outward forces exerted by the water. The clay is joined directly to the natural underlying material, which itself is usually clay in order for the dam to be water tight. The reservoir is filled by mechanical pumps that draw water from an adjacent water course such as a river. If a water tight roof is added then this dam can then be used for storing treated water before it goes to the tap and is known as a "Service" reservoir.
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