Cardinia Reservoir
Area of catchment
2,800 hectares (off stream storage)
Type of dam
Rolled earthfill and rockfill embankment
Maximum height of main dam from river to crest
85 metres
Length measured along top of dam
1,542 metres (main bank only, saddle dams have an additional crest length of 2,841 metres)
Surface area (top water level)
1,295 hectares
Total available capacity
286,911 megalitres
Volume as at 25/5/2013
214,486 megalitres (74.8% full)
Date of completion
1973
Cardinia is Melbourne's second biggest reservoir. It will play a key role in distributing desalinated water across Melbourne when the Victorian Desalination Plant is complete.
Where the water comes from
Cardinia receives water from Silvan Reservoir, and over the coming months it will also receive desalinated water that will gradually be produced as part of the desalination plant's commissioning process.
Where the water goes
Recent infrastructure upgrades at the reservoir have improved the overall flexibility of our water supply network and have expanded the supply footprint of Cardinia, in readiness for the reservoir's key role in distributing desalinated water.
Water from Cardinia Reservoir can be transferred to most parts of Melbourne, depending how our system is managed.
For more information on water in your area, contact your water retailer.
Annual Rainfall
| Cardinia Key Rainfall Facts (in mm) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Tot | |
| Wettest | 136.2 (1991) |
208.8 (1973) |
128.5 (1973) |
181.2 (1974) |
168.4 (2000) |
177.4 (1991) |
171.8 (1996) |
174.4 (1975) |
215.4 (1992) |
204.0 (1989) |
194.8 (1971) |
213.0 (1993) |
1328.4 (1993) |
| Driest | 7.0 (1990) |
2.0 (2009) |
16.8 (1986) |
19.4 (2007) |
24.4 (2005) |
17.2 (2006) |
35.0 (1982) |
32.2 (1982) |
38.2 (2008) |
29.4 (2006) |
19.2 (1982) |
5.1 (1972) |
620.4 (1997) |
| Average | 63.1 | 56.3 | 60.4 | 81.6 | 83.7 | 86.7 | 87.3 | 97.6 | 100 | 98.6 | 90.9 | 84.8 | 991.1 |
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