Petersham Reservoir, Heritage water reservoir in Petersham, Australia

Petersham Reservoir is a covered reservoir: a rectangular grassed mound encloses a circular structure of brick floor, walls and columns with cast iron beams. Its roof has three concentric concrete barrel arches, the central one removed in 1965 for the elevated reservoir. A polychrome brick wall with two brick valve houses flanks the Canterbury Road entrance.

The facility was built in 1888 by the New South Wales Public Works Department as the first new water storage project after the Upper Nepean Scheme was completed. This expansion became necessary to supply the rapidly growing population of Sydney.

The site is also known as Petersham Service Reservoir and WS089, and the covered reservoir is now empty. Its polychrome brick boundary wall and the two brick valve houses flanking the Canterbury Road entrance are the details a passer-by can pick out, and oleander is among the plantings on the grounds.

The site sits on New Canterbury Road, with the main entrance to the grounds off Canterbury Road, flanked by two rectangular brick valve houses. A former Water Service Operator Office, a brick Federation-style building with a hipped tile roof, stands on the Canterbury Road frontage. The covered reservoir itself is empty and sealed beneath a grassed mound, so the polychrome brick perimeter wall, gates and valve houses are what can be seen from the street.

The original valve control gear remains intact within rectangular brick valve houses, offering a rare glimpse into preserved 19th-century water management technology. These mechanical systems show visitors how early engineers solved practical problems of water distribution.