There are mainly 4 types of reservoirs:
1) STORAGE RESERVOIRIts main purpose is to store water throughout the year and utilise it for irrigation,hydro power, industrial and other domestic purposes when the rainfall is inadequate.
As it stores the water by large quantities, large areas are required to construct such a reservoir.
2) FLOOD PROTECTION RESERVOIRReservoirs which are constructed to lessen the effect of floods in the downstream side are Flood protection reservoirs. These reservoirs stop the heavy flow of water during floods and releases gradually to reduce the effect on flood prone areas.
3) DISTRIBUTION RESERVOIRS These reservoirs are small storage reservoirs to distribute and manage water supply in a city.
4) MULTIPURPOSE PROJECT These are the reservoirs which serve multi purposes. They control the floods and reduce effect on flood prone areas as well as store water for irrigation and hydroelectric power generation.
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