| Lake Eildon | |
|---|---|
| A view of the lake in 2006 | |
| Location | Southern Victoria |
| Lake type | Reservoir |
| Primary inflows | Goulburn River |
| Primary outflows | Goulburn River |
| Basin countries | Australia |
| Max. length | 983 m |
| Surface area | 13,832 ha |
| Average depth | 24 m |
| Max. depth | 79 m[1] |
| Water volume | 3,334,158 ML |
Lake Eildon is the impoundment created by Eildon Weir on the Goulburn River in southern Victoria, Australia. At 3,334,158 megalitres when full, it contains six times as much water as Sydney Harbour and is the second largest water storage in Victoria after Dartmouth Dam. It is located at the town of Eildon, within Lake Eildon National Park.
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The lake was created in several stages. The first dam was constructed between 1915 and 1929, creating what was then known as Sugarloaf Reservoir. The storage was enlarged to 377,000 megalitres in 1935, and then enlarged almost tenfold between 1951 and 1955. On average, 91% of the water from Lake Eildon goes to the Goulburn Weir and the Waranga Basin before it flows to irrigators in the Goulburn Valley system.
In recent years, Lake Eildon has rarely filled, and the once-thriving holiday destinations around the lake have been unable to attract visitors, leading to considerable economic hardship. Although water is in great demand for agriculture, careful regulation has kept outflows fairly static. As of May 8, 2007, Lake Eildon had dropped to an all-time low of 5.3% capacity.
In June 2007, the Victoria Government announced that Lake Eildon would be connected to Melbourne's metropolitan water supply via a pipeline from the Goulburn River.
The nearby town of Bonnie Doon was the location for the holiday scenes in the movie, The Castle.
After many years with below average rainfall, 2010 saw Lake Eildon receive above average rainfall and rose from 23% of capacity in May 2010 to be 82.5% as of March 2011.
As of 11th of October 2011 the lake is 99.13% full. [2]