Streams, Lakes and Storages

Victorian watercourses range from small, turbulent streams in the steeply graded rocky gullies of the uplands to the broad, meandering rivers of the low hills and plains. Water Storages The total capacity of major storages in Victoria exceeds 15 million ML - more than 70 % of the average annual discharge of all Victorian rivers. Excepting those water storages used solely for town water supply, most are available for recreation and water sports. Some water bodies, such as Reedy Lake, are managed primarily to assist the breeding of water birds. Partly full storages can help mitigate flooding. Other uses of water storages include hydroelectricity generation, either primarily or as water is released for irrigation, and supplying cooling water for coal-fired power stations. Sources: R.E. Holmes, 1982, Chapter 8:Water Resources, IN: J.S. Duncan (Ed), Atlas of Victoria, VGPO Water Victoria: An Environmental Handbook, Dept. Water Resources, 1989

Streams, Lakes & Storages This map shows the major streams and lakes, and major water storages, across Victoria and was developed from layers within the DSE Corporate Geospatial Data Library. Mildura Weir, Lock 32, River Murray Photo: Lyn Jacka

Table: Major Storages: Capacity and Year of Completion

	River Basin1	Storage	Capacity (ML)	Completed	Enlargement
IV	Murray-Darling Division
1	Upper Murray	Lake Hume	3,038,000	1936	1960
		Lake Dartmouth	4,000,000	1980
3	Ovens	Lake Mulwala	117,500	1939
		Lake Buffalo	24,000	1965
		Lake William Hovell	13,500	1971
4	Broken	Lake Nillahcootie	40,000	1968
		Lake Mokoan	365,000	1971
5	Goulburn	Goulburn Weir	25,530	1890
		Waranga Basin	411,000	1905	1926
		Lake Eildon	3,390,000	1927	1955
		Greens Lake	32,500	1968
6	Campaspe	Malmsbury Reservoir	17,800	1870	1887 / 1940
		Barkers Creek Reservoir	2,700	1870
		Crusoe Reservoir	1,500	1871
		Campaspe Weir	2,700	1882
		Upper Coliban Reservoir	31,700	1903	1925
		Lauriston Reservoir	19,800	1941
		McCay Reservoir	1,400	1960
		Lake Eppalock	312,000	1962
7	Loddon	Spring Gully Reservoir	2,500	1869
		Hepburns Lagoon	3,000	1870	1960
		Newlyn Reservoir	3,300	1871	1961
		Kow Swamp	51,000	1890	1969
		Laanecoorie Reservoir	8,000	1891
		Cairn Curran Reservoir	148,000	1956
		Tullaroop Reservoir	74,000	1959
	Murray Riverina	Torrumbarry Weir	35,600	1923
14	Mallee	Mildura Weir	36,600	1928
15	Wimmera - Avon	Lake Wartook	29,500	1887
		Lake Lonsdale	65,500	1903
		Lake Batyo Catyo	4,800	1916
		Lake Fyans	21,000	1916
		Taylor’s Lake	36,000	1923
		Pine Lake	64,000	1923
		Dock Lake	5,900	1935
		Green Lake	5,600	1935
		Toolondo Reservoir	106,500	1954	1961
		Lake Bellfield	78,500	1966
II	South East Coast Division
25	Thomson	Lake Glenmaggie	190,000	1929	1958
		Thomson Reservoir	1,123,000	1983
26	LaTrobe	Moondarra Reservoir	30,300	1962
		Blue Rock Lake	200,000	1984
27	South Gippsland	Lance Creek Reservoir	1,920	1911
		Candowie Reservoir	2,430
28	Bunyip	Lysterfield Lake	4,300	1934
		Devilbend Reservoir	14,600	1964
		Tarago Reservoir	37,500	1968	1973
		Cardinia Reservoir	287,000	1973
29	Yarra	Yan Yean Reservoir	30,000	1857
		Maroondah Reservoir	22,000	1927
		O’Shannassy Reservoir	4,000	1928
		Silvan Reservoir	40,000	1932
		Greenvale Reservoir	27,000	1971
		Sugarloaf Reservoir	95,000	1980
		Upper Yarra Reservoir	200,000	1958
30	Maribyrnong	Rosslynne Reservoir	24,500	1974
31	Werribee	Pykes Creek Reservoir	24,000	1911	1930
		Melton Reservoir	17,000	1916	1937
		Merrimu Reservoir	19,000	1969
32	Moorabool	Bostock Reservoir	7,455	1875	1954
		Korweinguboora Reservoir	2,090	1910
		Moorabool Reservoir	6,700	1915
		Lal Lal Reservoir	59,500	1972
33	Barwon	Wurdee Boluc Reservoir	19,100	1928
		White Swan Reservoir	14,100	1952
		West Barwon Reservoir	20,900	1965
38	Glenelg	Moora Moora Reservoir	6,300	1934
		Rocklands Reservoir	348,000	1954

1Australian Water Resources Council (AWRC) Drainage Divisions and Basins
Source: Water Victoria: a Resource Handbook, Dept. Water Resources, 1989

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