The Lower Nihotupu Reservoir (or Lower Nihotupu Dam) is one of five reservoirs in the Waitakere Ranges

Waitakere Ranges

The Waitakere Ranges are a chain of hills in the Auckland metropolitan area, generally running approximately 25 km from north to south, 25 km west of central Auckland, New Zealand. The maximum elevation within the ranges is 474 m...

 that supply water

Water

Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...

 to Auckland

Auckland Region

The Auckland Region was one of the sixteen regions of New Zealand, named for the city of Auckland, the country's largest urban area. With one third of the nation's residents, it was by far the biggest population and economy of any region of New Zealand, but the second-smallest land area.On 1...

. Built between 1945 and 1948,. the reservoir covers an area of 52.9 hectares and has a capacity of 4.6 million cubic metres. The reservoir is managed by Water Care Services Limited, a council

City council

A city council or town council is the legislative body that governs a city, town, municipality or local government area.-Australia & NZ:Because of the differences in legislation between the States, the exact definition of a City Council varies...

 owned company.

The dam is credited as one of the first applied examples of the soil mechanics

Soil mechanics

Soil mechanics is a branch of engineering mechanics that describes the behavior of soils. It differs from fluid mechanics and solid mechanics in the sense that soils consist of a heterogeneous mixture of fluids and particles but soil may also contain organic solids, liquids, and gasses and other...

science in New Zealand, and was soon followed by the creating of engineering geology as a major subject at the School of Engineering, Auckland..