Geelong region water storages

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The greater Geelong region’s drinking water is sourced mainly from our forested catchments on the upper Barwon and Moorabool rivers.

Additional water can be drawn from the Victorian water grid via the Melbourne to Geelong Pipeline, and from an underground aquifer in Anglesea.

An increasing number of businesses and new residential subdivisions are also connected to recycled water.

Barwon River system

Located near the township of Forrest in the Otway Ranges, the West Barwon Reservoir sits at the base of a 51 square kilometre catchment on the West Barwon River.

Water is fed via a 57-kilometre channel to the Wurdee Boluc storage reservoir, south of Winchelsea, collecting from smaller rivers and streams on the way.

This water is filtered, disinfected and fluoridated at the adjacent Wurdee Boluc Water Treatment Plant, before being delivered to customers in Winchelsea, Moriac, Anglesea, Airey's Inlet, Torquay, greater Geelong and the Bellarine Peninsula via a network of pipes, tanks and covered storage basins.

Moorabool River system

A number of reservoirs north of Geelong form the upper Moorabool river system. Korweinguboora, Bostock and Stony Creek reservoirs which make up the East Moorabool system; and Lal Lal Reservoir, near Ballarat, is the main storage on the West Moorabool River.

Water from the Moorabool catchments is filtered, disinfected and fluoridated at the Moorabool Water Treatment Plant at She Oaks. This water is then transferred to towns north of the Geelong city centre. Water from the Moorabool system can also be used to supply parts of Geelong when operationally required.

Melbourne to Geelong Pipeline

The Melbourne to Geelong Pipeline is a 59-kilometre underground pipe connecting Geelong’s storage basins at Lovely Banks with Melbourne’s water supply network at Cowies Hill, west of Werribee.

The pipeline is capable of delivering up to 16,000 million litres of water annually; roughly half greater Geelong’s demand. It supplies towns and suburbs predominantly to the north and west of Geelong.

Additional works completed in December 2019 extended the effective reach of the pipeline to more towns and suburbs, allowing us to access our full annual allocation.

Anglesea borefield

The Anglesea borefield comprises seven bores across two sites that can be activated to supplement the existing Greater Geelong water supply system when storages are low. These bores tap into the Lower Eastern View Formation – a vast aquifer approximately 700 metres below ground.

Our access to groundwater from the Anglesea borefield is governed by a bulk entitlement, issued by the Victorian Government. Under the terms of our current bulk entitlement, we are licensed to extract a maximum of 40 million litres per day, 10,000 million litres in any year, and 35,000 million litres in any 5-year period. The bulk entitlement also includes a range of triggers and controls, including an extensive Monitoring and Assessment Program, that help identify if/ when pumping from the borefield needs to reduce or cease to protect the environmental values and health of groundwater dependent ecosystems.

While the bulk entitlement stipulates maximum extraction volumes, when in use we have and will continue to operate the borefield safely below these limits.

The borefield was completed in 2009 following the millennium drought. In November 2019, following prolonged dry conditions and a decline in storage levels, the borefield was activated for the first time since a pumping test was undertaken in 2012.

For more information, please go to Anglesea borefield | Your Say Barwon Water.