Silver Lake Reservoir

The Silver Lake Reservoir is home to Silver Lake and the Ivanhoe Reservoir. It will be closing the reservoirs from the city’s drinking water supply after over eight decades.

The Silver Lake Reservoir was designed to provide drinking water to over 600,000 homes in downtown and South Los Angeles. The reservoir is owned by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. It has been forced to pull the plug on the drinking water supply.

The water supply has faced contamination even as the Department of Water and Power has tried countlessly to protect the open-air reservoir. The reservoir has been drained on numerous occasions and the shorelines have been pushed back. A large wall with barbed wire was even installed – making the reservoir look off limits.

So what is the purpose of the Silver Lake Reservoir? It has developed into a regional recreational resource. While the water is not clean enough for drinking, it can still be used for recreation. As it is, a dog park on its south side surrounds the reservoir, and on the north side is a nursery school. Plus there is the Silver Lake Recreation Center – home to a basketball court along the south side of the lake. The Silver Lake Reservoir offers tails for bikers and joggers that stretches 2.2 miles around the reservoir.

So what’s left of the Silver Lake Reservoir to be used and developed? In January of 2014, Silver Lake natives and locals joined together to pitch new ideas. Currently there is discussion of the Ivanhoe part of the reservoir being turned into a public swimming area – with characteristics similar to a beach. While the venue has been considered to get the new name “Silver Lake Plunge,” many natives discuss it with the informal title of “Hipster Beach.”

The city has been discussing the use of underground tanks to protect water supply in the area.

For more information about Silver Lake and the surrounding areas, be sure to like our Facebook Page.