Silvan Reservoir

Silvan Reservoir is the heart of the water transfer system, supplying most parts of metropolitan Melbourne. It stores water transferred from the Upper Yarra, O’Shannassy and Thomson reservoirs and other creeks in the Yarra catchment.

The water from Silvan Reservoir flows out to service reservoirs across suburban Melbourne, typically spanning Somerton to Emerald. When mixed with water from Sugarloaf Reservoir, water from Silvan is supplied even further out west to suburbs such as St Albans and Werribee.

Silvan Reservoir can transfer water to Cardinia and Greenvale reservoirs. Water can also be pumped from Cardinia Reservoir to Silvan Reservoir, enabling desalinated water to be supplied to other parts of Melbourne and surrounds.

Key facts

The dam at Silvan Reservoir is an earthfill embankment with reinforced concrete core wall, and was completed in 1932.

Water is disinfected to destroy residual micro-organisms at the Silvan Water Treatment Plant, which is operated and maintained by Melbourne Water under a Major Hazard Facility licence from WorkSafe Victoria.

• Catchment area: 900 hectares (off-stream storage)
• Surface area: 333 hectares
• Total capacity: 40,445 megalitres
• Dam height: 40 metres
• Dam length: 650 metres
   

Water catchment protection and access

Silvan Reservoir is an off-stream reservoir, receiving water from on-stream reservoirs and other sources. There is:

• no entry into the protected water supply catchment, with offenders subject to prosecution under the Water Act 1989 (Vic)
• entry permitted to Silvan Reservoir Park, managed by Parks Victoria.

Melbourne Water continually reviews our protected catchments to determine if more areas can be opened to the public. While this would allow more people to enjoy Victoria’s vast natural spaces, it must be balanced with protecting our precious drinking water for the safety of our community.