Parks

Most of the open spaces in Wandsworth contain ponds or lakes. There are seven large lakes in our parks and open spaces, the largest lake being in Battersea Park. They are all renowned for a variety of waterfowl, herons, winter-visiting tufted duck and shelduck. Some have a good variety of fish including carp, roach, pike and sticklebacks whilst most support some aquatic vegetation and invertebrates.

Our London Lakes project

The London Lakes project was a set up to improve water quality and to create ecologically diverse and attractive lakes in Wandsworth. The project involved rehabilitating three urban lakes and monitoring their improvement. It was part-funded for three years (1993-1996) by the European Union under the Life initiative. Lessons from this pioneering study were applied to other lakes in Wandsworth. For example, additional enhancement work took place on Wandsworth Common Lake in 2001 and Tooting Common Lake in 2002.

How we maintain good water quality in our lakes

We maintain good water quality in our lakes by using alternative sources of water and ensuring that they have enough oxygen in them to support a range of aquatic invertebrates. We monitor the water quality four times a year so we can adjust our management measures if necessary, which ensures that the water quality and aquatic diversity continues to improve.

We also manage the fish stock in our lakes to provide a range of species and sizes/ages. This helps us maintain a healthy fishery. For example, if we only encouraged fish that fed at the bottom of the lake it would affect the clarity of the water and prevent aquatic vegetation from growing. In order to provide a balance of wetland and lake habitat across the borough, we also deliberately remove fish in some lakes on a regular basis. This helps colonies of amphibian and invertebrate species to become established.