Silver Lake Reservoir

The Silver Lake Reservoirs comprise two concrete-lined basins, Ivanhoe Reservoir and Silver Lake, divided by a spillway, in the Silver Lake community of Los Angeles, California.HistoryThe lower body of water was named in 1906 for Water Board Commissioner Herman Silver, and in turn lends its name to the neighborhood. The upper body received its name after the 1819 Sir Walter Scott novel Ivanhoe.The reservoirs are owned and maintained by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (DWP), and could provide water to 600,000 homes in downtown and South Los Angeles; however, only the smaller of the two, Ivanhoe, remains online. At capacity, it holds 795e6USgal of water. The Silver Lake Reservoir's water resources will be replaced by the Headworks Reservoir, an underground reservoir north of Griffith Park, slated for completion by December 2017.The reservoir is the focal point of the community and has evolved as a regional recreational resource. It is surrounded by several recreational areas, including a dog park on the south, a nursery school on the north, and the Silver Lake Recreation Center, which includes a basketball court on the south side of the lake. There is also a walking and jogging path, which stretches 2.2mi around the reservoir. In April 2011, the City of Los Angeles opened up for public use a three-acre passive park on the east side of the lake dubbed the "Silver Lake Meadow," modeled after the Sheep Meadow in New York's Central Park. In January 2014, some local residents proposed transforming the Ivanhoe part of the reservoir into a public, beach-like swimming venue titled "Silver Lake Plunge" but informally dubbed "Hipster Beach."