As Melbourne water storage levels drop to their lowest point in six years, desalinated water has started flowing from the Victorian desalination plant near Wonthaggi.
Cardinia Reservoir is the first recipient of the desalinated water, with 150 billion litres of water to flow into greater Melbourne over the next year.
It comes after the Victorian Government announced a record 150-gigalitre (GL) order of water from the desalination plant in April. This topped the 50GL order from the previous financial year and surpassed the previous high (125GL orders in three successive years: 2019–20 to 2021–22).
The 2026–27 order will help prevent water restrictions in Melbourne, Geelong and parts of Gippsland. Geelong has faced the driest conditions; its water storage would be under 10 per cent if it wasn’t connected with Melbourne’s water network.
The Victorian desalination plant is connected to the Victorian water grid through a transfer pipeline, supporting Melbourne Water alongside three adjacent water corporations – South East Water, Westernport Water and South Gippsland Water.
Since it became operational in 2012, the Victorian desalination plant has delivered over half a trillion litres of drinking water to Melbourne, equating to 27.9 per cent of the city’s storage capacity.
It comes after Melbourne Water recently gained regulator approval to invest $7.3 billion in essential infrastructure between 2026 and 2031.
The investment program includes upgrades to sewerage and drainage infrastructure to support Melbourne’s growing population, maintain service reliability and strengthen long-term network resilience.
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