Path closures for approximately eight weeks due to essential maintenance work from 8 September.
Cardiff’s iconic reservoirs
Lisvane & Llanishen Reservoirs is owned and managed by Welsh Water who are guardians of this environment.
Welsh Water is different from other water companies. We don’t have shareholders, which means that we put every single penny we make straight back into keeping bills down and looking after your water and beautiful environment – now, and for years to come.
Welsh Water is committed to working in collaboration with organisations who offer opportunities to increase awareness and involvement in caring for the environment by local people and communities.
Our Visitor Attraction Sites are hubs for health, wellbeing and recreation. They connect our visitors with the outdoors, water and environment.
Working in collaboration with organisations will help deliver our 2050 vision of becoming a business which uses its land holdings and other assets to maximise the well-being of its customers, encouraging healthy lifestyles and recreation, and supporting biodiversity and ecosystems.
If you wish to find out further information on becoming a volunteer or if you are an organisation who wishes to work in collaboration with us, at any of our visitor attraction sites , please get in touch by registering your interest at volunteer@dwrcymru.com
The group was set up in 2021 as a natural successor to the Reservoir Action Group (RAG) which had fought for almost two decades to prevent housing development on the Lisvane & Llanishen Reservoirs site.
The Friends raise the profile and promote the reservoirs as a valuable public amenity, helping to protect them as a safe and accessible place of recreation, education and enjoyment for everyone in the community.
The Friends work in partnership with Welsh Water to involve residents, local groups and conservation organisations to enhance the reservoirs by protecting and improving biodiversity, celebrating history and helping to promote educational and health opportunities. To find out more and apply for membership online, click the button below.
We had the privilege of helping prepare the site in the months preceding the launch – developing new skills and making new friends along the way. Since opening , it’s fair to say the volunteering opportunities have mushroomed with, for example, regular fungi surveys identifying varieties of rare waxcaps! Volunteers have also assisted with children’s activities, enhanced the woodland areas and helped rangers in numerous other tasks. We have been pleased to work in partnership with Welsh Water to develop a varied programme of volunteering activities and have been delighted with the enthusiastic response from our members.
Peter Fullerton, Chair, Friends Of Cardiff Reservoirs
Volunteers have been integral to monitoring the fortunes of waterbirds at Llanishen & Lisvane Reservoirs for a long time. Since 1993, they’ve undertaken monthly counts at the reservoirs for the British Trust for Ornithology’s UK-wide Wetland Bird Survey (WeBS). This very important survey enables us to better understand the population numbers of waterbirds in the UK and whether species are doing well or are in trouble and need help. So far, these volunteers have recorded 49 different species of waterbird and gull on the reservoirs for WeBS. Which volunteer will identify the fiftieth?
Daniel Jenkins-Jones, Regional Representative, British Trust For Ornithology
It was an absolute pleasure to deliver the ‘Wellies In The Woods’ project to the wonderful families who attended. Getting to know all the participants and seeing everyone enjoy themselves together outdoors and learning new skills and games was a delight. It was a privilege to be able to introduce outdoor play to children, some of whom had never experienced being in a woodland before, and to hear from the parents that they had enjoyed repeating the activities outside of the sessions.
Fay Williams, Senior Project Officer, Groundworks Wales
Whilst working on the ‘Digital Memories’ project – which is preserving the community’s fondest memories of the reservoirs – I’ve been afforded the wonderful opportunity to connect with the site’s rich history and culture, to understand the resilience demonstrated by the Reservoir Action Group, and to meet so many passionate staff members and volunteers alike. I am so excited to see how this initiative grows, and to get lost down the rabbit hole of memories and stories shared by such a strong, caring community.
Conor Chipp, Digital Inclusion Adviser, Digital Communities Wales
