Melbourne Water : Current Projects : Water Supply : Tarago Project : Tarago Reservoir Reconnected

Tarago Reservoir Reconnected

Melbourne Water has built a Water Treatment Plant so Tarago Reservoir can be reconnected to Melbourne’s water supply network.

Reconnecting Tarago has boosted Melbourne’s water storage levels. It will provide about 15 billion litres more a year.

This is part of work to secure Melbourne’s water supply in the face of drought and climate change.

Key Facts

Tarago Reservoir is east of Melbourne, near the town of Neerim South (see map).
It has a total capacity of 37.5 billion litres, making it the 6th largest of Melbourne’s 10 reservoirs.
It supplies water to Gippsland Water customers and some irrigators, as well as Melbourne.
The new plant can treat up to 70 million litres of water a day (25 billion litres a year).
Water from the plant supplies about 95,000 customers in Westernport and the Mornington Peninsula area.
The $97 million plant was built under budget and 6 months ahead of schedule. It opened officially on 24 June 2009.
The hill-top treatment plant is gravity fed from Tarago Reservoir, virtually eliminating the need for pumping and greatly reducing energy costs.
The key components of the water treatment process are Dissolved Air Flotation and Filtration (DAFF) and ultraviolet (UV) disinfection.
The treatment plant has been built in alliance with construction partners, Baulderstone Hornibrook and United Group , designer GHD and Sinclair Knight Merz.

Tarago Reservoir history

Tarago Reservoir was constructed in 1969 to supply several towns near Neerim South and the Mornington Peninsula and Westernport regions.
Melbourne Water stopped using untreated water from the Tarago Reservoir in 1994 when it became unsuitable for drinking, and accessed supplies from its other storages (close to 90% full at that time).
The new Tarago Treatment Plant ensures the same high quality supply that is provided by Melbourne’s other reservoirs

Securing our water supply

The Tarago Water Treatment Plant is the first project delivered under the Victorian Government’s $4.9 billion “Our Water Our Future” action plan to secure Melbourne’s water supplies.

Major water plan projects include the Seawater Desalination Plant in Wonthaggi and the construction of the Sugarloaf Pipeline.
Together with reconnecting Tarago, these projects will increase water supplies by 240 billion litres a year by the end of 2011.

Learn more about reconnecting Tarago Reservoir:

Downloads

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Melbourne Water