The O'Shannassy Reservoir is an Australian man-made
water supply
Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavors or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes. Public water supply systems are crucial to properly functioning societies. Thes ...
dam
A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...
med
reservoir
A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation.
Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...
. The water store across the
O'Shannassy River
The O'Shannassy River is a perennial river of the Port Phillip catchment, located in the north-eastern Greater Metropolitan Melbourne region of the Australian state of Victoria.
Location and features
The O'Shannassy River rises within the Yar ...
is located near the locality of , approximately east of
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
,
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
. The dam that creates the impoundment is called the O'Shannassy Dam.
Location and features
The reservoir is part of Melbourne's water supply system. Water flows under gravity to
Silvan Reservoir
The Silvan Reservoir is located in Silvan, Victoria, Silvan about east of Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. It has a capacity of . The reservoir is operated by Melbourne Water.
Operations
Silvan is an off-stream storage res ...
, then to storage and distribution reservoirs around Melbourne. It is the smallest of the water storage reservoirs managed by
Melbourne Water
Melbourne Water is a Victorian Government-owned statutory authority that controls and manages much of the water bodies and supplies in metropolitan Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, including the reservoirs, lakes, wetlands, canals and urban cree ...
, with a capacity of approximately , but it is on a very productive catchment, with stream flow averaging per annum.
The location was selected as it is at sufficient altitude for gravity supply to the elevated eastern suburbs of Melbourne. A diversion weir on the O'Shannassy River and
aqueduct to the
Surrey Hills Reservoir in Melbourne were completed in 1914. The weir was complemented by the construction of the dam and its reservoir in 1928, but the weir was still used to divert river flows into the aqueduct. The construction of the Yarra-Silvan conduits in the 1950s resulted in reduced requirements for the aqueduct which was decommissioned in 1997.
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]
See also
* List of reservoirs and dams in Victoria
* Melbourne Water
Melbourne Water is a Victorian Government-owned statutory authority that controls and manages much of the water bodies and supplies in metropolitan Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, including the reservoirs, lakes, wetlands, canals and urban cree ...
References
{{Melbourne dams
Reservoirs in Victoria (Australia)
1928 establishments in Australia
Yarra Ranges