Editing Staines-upon-Thames (section)

===Reservoirs===
[[File:Staines reservoirs and Heathrow Airport from the air - UK Geograph 6374081.jpg|thumb|right|Looking northeast across the [[King George VI Reservoir]] (left) and [[Staines Reservoirs]] (right) towards [[Heathrow Airport]].]]
{{main|Staines Reservoirs|King George VI Reservoir}}
The twin Staines Reservoirs, to the northeast of the town, were completed in 1902 and have a combined capacity of {{cvt|15|Mm3|impgal}}.<ref name=Staines_Rev>{{Cite web|last=London Metropolitan Archives|date=1897–1902|title=Staines reservoir joint committee: water supply and distribution|url=https://aim25.com/cgi-bin/vcdf/detail?coll_id=14282&inst_id=118&nv1=search&nv2=|access-date=16 June 2020|website=aim25.com|archive-date=18 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200618100325/https://aim25.com/cgi-bin/vcdf/detail?coll_id=14282&inst_id=118&nv1=search&nv2=|url-status=live}}</ref> They are filled from the Staines Reservoirs Aqueduct, which runs from the Thames at Bell Weir Lock, [[Hythe End]].<ref name=SCC_Flood>{{cite web |url= https://www.surreycc.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/50827/S19-Report-River-Ash-Area.pdf |title= S19 Flood Investigation Report River Ash and Knowle Green Area |date= 20 April 2015 |publisher= Surrey County Council |access-date= 7 June 2022 |archive-date= 21 April 2022 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220421204935/https://www.surreycc.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/50827/S19-Report-River-Ash-Area.pdf |url-status= live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |date=18 June 1901 |title= The Staines Reservoirs |page=5 |issue= 36484}}</ref>{{refn|Severe flooding in Staines in February 2014, was caused in part by the overflowing of the Staines Aqueduct, following a period of heavy rainfall. A short stretch of the channel walls partially collapsed as a result of the high flow rates and the aqueduct was closed throughout the summer of 2014 for repair work.<ref name=SCC_Flood/>|group=note}} The two reservoirs are separated by a {{cvt|1030|m|yd|adj=mid|long}} embankment and, under normal operating conditions, the water level of the northern reservoir is {{cvt|3|m|ft}} higher than that of the south.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Long-term stress measurements in the clay cores of storage reservoir embankments|url=https://britishdams.org/2004conf/papers/watts.pdf|access-date=17 June 2020|website=British Dams.org|archive-date=18 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200918111244/https://britishdams.org/2004conf/papers/watts.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> During the Second World War, Staines Reservoirs were used by [[No. 617 Squadron RAF]] to practise aiming [[bouncing bomb]]s in preparation for [[Operation Chastise]].<ref name=Maryfield_2006_pp111-112/>

The King George VI Reservoir was completed in 1939, but was left unfilled for the duration of the Second World War. In 1942, it was used by the [[Royal Air Force]] for [[Fog Investigation and Dispersal Operation]] experiments.<ref>{{harvnb|Williams|1997|p=8}}</ref> It was finally opened by [[King George VI]] in November 1947 and holds {{cvt|20|Mm3|impgal}}.<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |date=7 November 1947 |title=350-acre reservoir opening at Staines by the King today |page=3 |issue= 50912}}</ref>