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Silvan Reservoir

Coordinates: 37°50′S 145°25′E / 37.833°S 145.417°E / -37.833; 145.417
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Silvan Reservoir[1][2]
Silvan Reservoir[1][2] is located in Victoria
Silvan Reservoir[1][2]
Silvan Reservoir[1][2]
LocationSilvan, Victoria
Coordinates37°50′S 145°25′E / 37.833°S 145.417°E / -37.833; 145.417
Typereservoir
Catchment area9 km2 (3.5 sq mi)
Basin countriesAustralia
Surface area3.33 km2 (1.29 sq mi)
Silvan Dam
Silvan Reservoir from Kalorama
LocationSilvan, Victoria
Construction began1926
Opening date7 July 1931
Operator(s)Melbourne Water
Dam and spillways
Height43 metres (141 ft)
Length644 metres (2,113 ft)
Width (base)219 metres (719 ft)
Reservoir
CreatesSilvan Reservoir
Total capacity40,000 megalitres (32,000 acre⋅ft)
Catchment area9 km2 (3.5 sq mi)
(off-stream storage)
Surface area3.33 km2 (1.29 sq mi)

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.

Operations

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Silvan is an off-stream storage reservoir, meaning that most of the water is sourced from other reservoirs as the actual catchment area of 9 square kilometres (3.5 sq mi) for Silvan is small. Water for Silvan is transferred from 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

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

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

References

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  1. ^ a b c Silvan Reservoir profile, Melbourne Water, archived from the original on 25 May 2011, retrieved 10 September 2010
  2. ^ a b c Silvan Reservoir park, Parks Victoria, retrieved 15 September 2010
  3. ^ a b Silvan Reservoir fact sheet, Melbourne Water, archived from the original on 25 August 2010, retrieved 10 September 2010
  4. ^ a b Ritchie, E. G. (October 1934), "Melbourne's Water Supply Undertaking" (PDF), Journal of Institution of Engineers Australia, 6: 379–382, archived from the original (PDF) on 18 February 2011
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