Maroondah Dam

Maroondah Dam
The dam and reservoir at capacity, 2011
Maroondah Dam Location of the dam in Victoria
Interactive map of Maroondah Dam
Country	Australia
Location	Healesville, Central Victoria
Coordinates	37°38′31″S 145°33′05″E
Purpose	Water supply
Status	Operational
Construction began	October 1920
Opening date	1927
Operator	Melbourne Water
Dam and spillways
Type of dam	Gravity dam
Impounds	Watts River
Height	41 m (135 ft)
Length	291 m (955 ft)
Dam volume	132,000 m3 (4,700,000 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 (17,981 acre⋅ft)
Catchment area	10,400 ha (26,000 acres)
Surface area	200 ha (490 acres)
Normal elevation	127 m (417 ft) AHD
Website Maroondah Reservoir at Melbourne Water

The Maroondah Dam is a gravity dam across the Watts River, located near Healesville, in the Central region of Victoria, Australia. Completed in 1927, the resultant reservoir, Maroondah Reservoir, was created for the supply of potable water for Greater Metropolitan Melbourne. The dam and reservoir are operated by Melbourne Water.

Dam and reservoir overview

The dam was constructed in the 1920s by the Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works.

Dam

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.

The rock-foundation concrete dam wall is 41 metres (135 ft) high and 291 metres (955 ft) long. When full, the resultant reservoir has a storage capacity of 28,200 megalitres (22,900 acre⋅ft) and covers 200 hectares (490 acres), drawn from a catchment area of 104 square kilometres (40 sq mi). The uncontrolled rock-chute spillway has a discharge capacity of 465 cubic metres per second (16,400 cu ft/s). 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.

Reservoir

An aerial view of the reservoir, 2022

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 dam wall is the Maroondah Reservoir Park that features a large garden landscaped in an "English style" with 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.

See also

• List of dams and reservoirs in Victoria

External links

Media related to Maroondah Reservoir at Wikimedia Commons