Melbourne Water is inviting community to inform the upcoming upgrade of Melbourne’s second-largest reservoir.
Cardinia Reservoir is set to undergo much-needed works to bring the site up to modern standards, including the raising of dam walls, filter upgrades and improve leakage monitoring.
Melbourne Water is keen to minimise environmental impacts during the upgrade, particularly concerning the removal of native vegetation.
“We work hard to avoid native vegetation removal, wherever possible,” Melbourne Water executive general manager – service and asset lifecycle, Matt Daley, said.
“For the Cardinia dam upgrade, we have reduced the amount of native vegetation to be removed by almost half and avoided areas of high ecological value.”
Daley said it was imperative new life was breathed into Cardinia Reservoir.
“Maintaining healthy, resilient reservoirs is vital to securing Melbourne’s water supply for generations to come,” he said. “As industry standards evolve, we continue to invest in the critical infrastructure that keeps pace with our rapidly growing city.”
Water from Cardinia Reservoir can be pumped to Silvan Reservoir and then distributed to most of the city, or pumped directly to the CBD. It is also regularly transferred through the desalination pipeline to support catchments overseen by Westernport Water and South Gippsland Water.
The upgrade is set to commence in 2027, with consultation open until April 26.
It comes after the Victorian Government announced a record 150-gigalitre water order this week from the Victorian desalination plant in response to dry conditions in recent years.
Melbourne Water has observed Melbourne and Geelong storages see the sharpest decline since the Millennium Drought.
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