Silvan Reservoir

The Silvan Reservoir is located in Silvan about 40 kilometres (25 mi) east of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It has a capacity of 40,000 ML (1.4 billion cu ft).^[1][3] The reservoir is operated by Melbourne Water.

Silvan Reservoir[1][2]
Silvan Reservoir[1][2]
Location	Silvan, Victoria
Coordinates	37°50′S 145°25′E
Type	reservoir
Catchment area	9 km2 (3.5 sq mi)
Basin countries	Australia
Surface area	3.33 km2 (1.29 sq mi)

Silvan Dam
Silvan Reservoir from Kalorama
Interactive map of Silvan Dam
Location	Silvan, Victoria
Construction began	1926
Opening date	7 July 1931
Operator	Melbourne Water
Dam and spillways
Height	43 metres (141 ft)
Length	644 metres (2,113 ft)
Width (base)	219 metres (719 ft)
Reservoir
Creates	Silvan Reservoir
Total capacity	40,000 megalitres (32,000 acre⋅ft)
Catchment area	9 km2 (3.5 sq mi) (off-stream storage)
Surface area	3.33 km2 (1.29 sq mi)

Operations

Silvan is an off-stream storage reservoir, meaning that most of the water is sourced from other reservoirs. That is because the actual catchment area of 9 square kilometres (3.5 sq mi) for Silvan is small. Water for Silvan is transferred from the Upper Yarra, O'Shannassy and Thomson (via Upper Yarra) reservoirs.

In turn, Silvan directly supplies water to many of Melbourne's eastern suburbs, as well as other off-stream storage reservoirs, including Cardinia and Greenvale.

History

A severe drought in 1914 forced the state government to search for a new water supply to handle Melbourne's ever-increasing needs. Construction took place between 1926 and 1931, and the reservoir was officially opened on 7 July 1931.^[4] The reservoir was 644 metres (2,113 ft) long, 219 metres (719 ft) wide, creating a water storage that is 43 metres (141 ft) deep.^[1][2][3][4]

In 1983, the dam wall started to show cracks and remedial works were undertaken. A picnic ground was added to the Silvan Reservoir Park at that time,^[2] which is now managed by Parks Victoria.