Sugarloaf Reservoir: Flexible by Design, Critical by Nature
Nestled in the Christmas Hills east of Melbourne, Sugarloaf Reservoir is one of the city’s picturesque water storages. It’s also a clever part of the system that helps keep Melbourne’s water supply steady and strong.
Commissioned in 1981 and capable of holding up to 96,250 megalitres of water, Sugarloaf isn’t fed by rainfall from its immediate surrounds. Instead, it’s filled in two ways: by water from the Maroondah Reservoir 15 kilometres away, and by water pumped from the nearby Yarra River. That makes it one of the few storages we can actively fill when we need to.
“Sugarloaf acts as a strategic reserve,” explains David Norman, Head of Water Supply at Melbourne Water. “Because we can control when and how we move water into it, it gives us a valuable tool to manage supply across the city. It's crucial to meet the growing water demands in Melbourne's western and northern suburbs and Geelong.”
Water from Sugarloaf Reservoir is treated at the Winneke Treatment Plant, then delivered to homes and businesses across the north and west of Melbourne.
This flexibility has become important in early 2025, as Melbourne’s total water storage levels dropped due to below-average rainfall and sustained warmer, drier conditions across the key reservoir catchments. While other storages wait on rain, river harvesting into the Sugarloaf Reservoir allows water to be pumped from the Yarra River when conditions allow, to be stored then treated and supplied to relieve pressure on the broader system.
And while it’s a workhorse of Melbourne’s water grid, it’s also a beloved public asset. Sugarloaf Reservoir Park, managed by Parks Victoria, is a favourite to explore walking trails, bushland and panoramic lookouts, all just metres from the infrastructure that keeps taps running.
With climate change making weather patterns more unpredictable and inflows harder to forecast, Sugarloaf’s pump-fed design and network positioning provides some agility for water security, today, tomorrow and for generations to come.
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