Making every drop of Melbourne’s water count for a growing city

After four years of above-average rainfall Melbourne’s reservoirs are full, with the latest Annual Water Outlook showing current storages sitting at 88.4%, but history has shown that they can drop quickly.

So, as our city grows, and our climate gets hotter and drier, it is important we make every drop count.

Melbourne’s population grew by around 140,000 in the last year, more than the entire population of Ballarat.

“Our biggest reservoir is the Thomson Dam, which refills during the wetter years, so it is ready to supply Melbourne during periods of drought,” said Melbourne Water Head of Water Supply, David Norman.

“It helps when imagining our water supply network to think of the Thomson Dam as a savings account that we try to keep as full as possible so we can manage during future drier periods.”

Melbourne’s water mostly flows from east to west, with the water moving largely under the force of gravity, though water is pumped from parts of the supply network such as Greenvale and Yan Yean to Wallan and Whittlesea in the north and Kallista and Monbulk in the Dandenongs. 

“Melbourne Water can also supply as far as Geelong to the west, northwest as far as Woodend, Mornington Peninsula to the south, Inverloch and Phillip Island in the southeast, and east to Warragul and the Yarra Valley.”

Our drinking water supply is also topped up by harvesting water from the Yarra River, which provides 50 to 60 billion litres annually. As the city grows and we continue to supply water to parts of regional Victoria, we may need a further 85 billion litres of drinking water each year by 2030.

“Our forecast assumes that we make full use of our desalination plant and reduce water usage to 150 litres per person per day,” said David.

Target 150 is a water efficiency initiative that encourages each Melburnian to limit their daily water consumption to below 150 litres per person per day. However, last year, the average consumer used 162 litres, indicating the need for a more concerted effort.  We all have a role to play to make every drop count.

“That’s about a bucket a day extra for each person, and a small amount can make a big difference.”

Since the Millennium Drought, Melbourne Water and the retail water companies have invested in a range of water saving initiatives, including supplying recycled water for industrial, agricultural and residential use and supporting more efficient use of water in homes and businesses.

Find out more about what we’re doing to save water and how you can help.

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