Cardinia Reservoir

Cardinia Reservoir
The control tower and walls at the southern end of the reservoir
Location	Victoria
Coordinates	37°57′49″S 145°24′37″E / 37.9637°S 145.4102°E / -37.9637; 145.4102Coordinates: 37°57′49″S 145°24′37″E / 37.9637°S 145.4102°E / -37.9637; 145.4102
Type	Reservoir
Primary outflows	Cardinia Creek
Catchment area	Dandenong Ranges
Basin countries	Australia
Water volume	287,000 megalitres

Cardinia Reservoir is a 287,000 megalitre water storage located in Emerald-Clematis-Dewhurst in south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Australia. Construction started in May 1970 and was completed in 1973 at a cost of more than A$11.4 million.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

History

As Melbourne's water supplies struggled through the 1960s the need for additional water storage became evident. Cardinia Creek ran from the Dandenong Ranges to Western Port Bay, passing through some small but well defined hills south of the outer suburb of Emerald. This site was chosen as being suitable for a new reservoir. With the construction of one large embankment to serve as the dam wall, and some other saddle dams in nearby hills, the large water storage facility of the Cardinia Reservoir was created.^[6]

Looking from east to south along the main dam wall of Cardinia Reservoir

Construction was completed in 1973, following which it took another four years to fill, including substantial water transfers from Silvan Reservoir. The surrounds of the reservoir were allocated $1 million for landscaping work to create a recreational area including picnic areas, playgrounds, carparks, and walking tracks.^[6] Although picnic area is good but you may find animal scat scattered all over the place.^[7]

Timeline

Some important events in the history of Cardinia Reservoir have been:^[2]

• 1966: Plans for the construction of the Cardinia and Thomson Reservoirs were accepted by the Victorian State Government. Construction of the Tarago Reservoir commenced in 1966 and was completed in 1969. This water storage was built by the State Rivers and Water Supply Commission (SR&WSC) to improve the capacity of the water supply system to meet the ever increasing demand for water in the district.
• 1967: Melbourne struggled through a severe drought and water restrictions were imposed in the summer of 1967/68. As a result, plans for construction of Cardinia and Thomson Reservoirs were advanced.
• 1973: Construction of Cardinia Reservoir by the Melbourne Metropolitan Board of Works (MMBW) was completed. As part of the Victorian Government's policy that fluoride should be added to all public water supplies, construction began on local fluoridation plants.
• 1981: Continued growth of demand on the Mornington Peninsula finally overtook the district's ability to meet its own water supply needs. Despite upgrading of existing facilities, water from the MMBW reservoir at Cardinia was first used to supplement local water supplies.
• 1993: Exporting of "Australia Pure", a bottled water from Cardinia Reservoir, commenced to several European countries and the United States of America.

Operations

Panoramic view looking east

Cardinia receives water via a pipeline from Silvan Reservoir. A 3.5 MW hydroelectric power station at the outlet of the pipeline generates electricity as water is transferred to Cardinia. Water from Cardinia supplies Melbourne's southern and south-eastern suburbs, and the Mornington Peninsula.

The Cardinia Reservoir is managed by Melbourne Water.^[8]

See also

• Cardinia Dam Power Station

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cardinia Reservoir.

• Cardinia Reservoir Park, Parks Victoria
• Cardinia Reservoir and Catchment, Cardinia Reservoir Park – Information Kit, March 2003, Parks Victoria