A reservoir on the course of the Water of Leith in West Lothian, Harperrig lies to the northwest of the Pentland Hills, 4 miles (6.6 km) south of Mid Calder. Built as part of a scheme to supply drinking water to Edinburgh, Harperrig was completed in 1860 as a compensation reservoir to guarantee water to the mills on the Water of Leith. It is retained by an earth embankment dam, covers an area of 94.4 ha (233 acres) and contains 4091 million litres (900 million gallons) of water. The dam is now 15.4m (50.5 feet) high, having been raised in height in 1890, and 150m (492 feet) long. The maximum water depth is 13.3m (43.6 feet). The reservoir was sold by Scottish Water to the City of Edinburgh Council in 2006. The outflow of the reservoir was modified in 2007-8 to as part of the Water of Leith flood prevention scheme, so that the reservoir could be used for upstream flood storage and thus regulate the flow of the river.
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