Upper Yarra Reservoir facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Upper Yarra Reservoir |
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 Upper Yarra Reservoir
Location in Victoria
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| Location | Victoria |
| Coordinates | 37°41′S 145°55′E / 37.683°S 145.917°E |
| Type | reservoir |
| Catchment area | 33,670 ha (83,200 acres) |
| Basin countries | Australia |
| Surface area | 750 ha (1,900 acres) |
| Average depth | 27 m (89 ft) |
| Max. depth | 77 m (253 ft) |
| Water volume | 200,000 megalitres (160,000 acre⋅ft) |
The Upper Yarra Reservoir is located east of Melbourne, beyond Warburton within the locality of Reefton. Water from Upper Yarra Reservoir supplies towns in the upper Yarra Valley, and Silvan Reservoir, which transfers water to most parts of Melbourne.
The management of 157,000 hectares of Melbourne's forested water catchments of the Upper Yarra such as the Watts (Maroondah) were vested in the Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works (MMBW) in 1891. Later in 1928, the Upper Yarra catchment was permanently added for water supply purposes
Approval to construct Upper Yarra Reservoir was granted in the early 1940s but due to World War II work did not start until 1948. When the Upper Yarra Reservoir was completed the total storage capacity of Melbourne's system was tripled to nearly 300,000 megalitres.
Upper Yarra Reservoir has a capacity of 200,000 megalitres (7,100×106 cu ft) and was completed in 1957, initially for the purpose of preventing flooding downstream.
Upper Yarra Reservoir is also supplied by water transferred from the Thomson River Dam.
As of January 2007, severe drought in south-eastern Australia had resulted in low water levels in the reservoir, which on 5 January 2007 was approximately half full.
As at 22 July 2013, it was at 95,568 megalitres (47.6% full).
