The Reservoir

The Reservoir was located in the far southeast corner just west of the powerhouse. A large concrete building it had one entrance on the east facing side. It was equal in height to a two story building. Inside the entrance was a ladder you could climb at the top you would see that the building was divided into two equal halves. A large dial on the outside numbered in reverse from 1 to 10 was used to gauge the amount of water inside.

The empty tank was dark and cavernous. The echo that you could create inside seemed to go on for minutes. It was referred to as the "Echo Chamber." Turn off your flashlight and it was pitch black. After a while it became home to thousands of bats.

The total capacity was one million gallons. It had a 12 inch main that was supplied from the Detroit Water System. The water was pumped by two electric pumps with capacities of 100 and 150 gallons per minute through another 12 inch main to the Detroit House of Corrections. It also supplied the water needed to operate the Powerhouse and the steam heating system for the Wayne County Training School. This information is from the 1942 Sanborn map.