The lake is surrounded with fringing reedbeds, carr woodland and grassland, which are managed by Bristol Water. The water conditions are eutrophic with run off from local fields and streams. Open-water plant communities are rather sparse, largely comprising fennel pondweed ("Potamogeton pectinatus"), lesser pondweed ("Potamogeton pusillus"), opposite-leaved pondweed ("Groenlandia densa") and water-crowfoot ("Ranunculus spp."). On neutral soils around the reservoir, pepper-saxifrage ("Silaum silaus"), burnet-saxifrage ("Pimpinella saxifraga") and devil's-bit scabious ("Succisa pratensis") occur, and on calcareous soils fairy flax ("Linum catharticum"), dwarf thistle ("Cirsium acaule") and salad burnet ("Sanguisorba minor" subspecies "minor") are found.