Maroondah Dam

Maroondah Dam
Maroondah Dam at capacity, October 2011
Location of the Maroondah Dam in Victoria
Country	Australia
Location	near Healesville Victoria
Coordinates	37°38′07″S 145°34′04″E
Purpose	Potable water supply
Status	Operational
Construction began	October 1920
Opening date	1927
Operator(s)	Melbourne Water
Dam and spillways
Type of dam	Cyclopean concrete gravity dam
Impounds	Watts River
Height	41 m (135 ft)
Length	291 m (955 ft)
Dam volume	132,000 m3 (4.7 million cu ft)
Spillway type	Uncontrolled concrete ogee-shaped overflow weir with rock channel chute
Spillway capacity	465 m3/s (16,400 cu ft/s)
Reservoir
Creates	Maroondah Reservoir
Total capacity	22,179 ML (783.2 million cu ft)
Catchment area	10,400 ha (26,000 acres)
Surface area	200 ha (490 acres)
Website Maroondah Reservoir at Melbourne Water

The Maroondah Dam is a rock-foundation concrete gravity dam with an uncontrolled rock-chute spillway across the Watts River, located in the Central region of the Australian state of Victoria. The storage created by the dam is called Maroondah Reservoir. The principal purpose of the dam and its reservoir is to supply potable water for Greater Metropolitan Melbourne.

Location and features

Maroondah Reservoir from above. Shot on 4 April 2022.

Constructed in the 1920s by the Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works, it is now operated by Melbourne Water. Like most of Melbourne's water harvesting reservoirs, the entire catchment is eucalypt forest completely closed to human activity, as is the reservoir itself. Immediately below the concrete dam, the Maroondah Reservoir Park features a large garden landscaped in an "English style", featuring many exotic plants very different from the surrounding native vegetation. A walking track leads across the dam, over the spillway, and up to a lookout from which much of the reservoir can be viewed.

History

Following the Yan Yean and Toorourrong schemes, the Maroondah Dam scheme was the third water supply source for Melbourne. The Maroondah Aqueduct was built in 1886–1881 to supply water to the Preston Reservoir from a diversion weir on the Watts River. The level of the aqueduct was determined by the site of the proposed Maroondah Reservoir, preparatory work for which was undertaken in 1915–1919. Construction commenced in October 1920 and was completed in 1927. During that period, the capacity of the Maroondah Aqueduct was increased.

In 1986, the reservoir spillway was widened to increase its flow capacity to that of a 1-in-10,000-year flood and, in 1989, the stability of the concrete dam was enhanced using ground anchors.

See also

• List of dams and reservoirs in Victoria