Cardinia Reservoir

Cardinia Reservoir is an Australian man-made water supply dammed reservoir. The 287000ML water store is located in Emerald-Clematis-Dewhurst in south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria. Construction started in May 1970 and was completed in 1973 at a cost of more than 11.4 million. The dam that creates the impoundment is called the Cardinia Dam.HistoryAs Melbourne's water supplies struggled through the 1960s the need for additional water storage became evident. Cardinia Creek ran from the Dandenong Ranges to Western Port Bay, passing through some small but well defined hills south of the outer suburb of Emerald. This site was chosen as being suitable for a new reservoir. In 1966, plans for the construction of the Cardinia and Thomson Reservoirs were accepted by the Government of Victoria. Construction of the Tarago Reservoir commenced in 1966 and was completed in 1969. This water storage was built by the State Rivers and Water Supply Commission of Victoria (SR&WSC) to improve the capacity of the water supply system to meet the ever increasing demand for water in the district. By 1967, Melbourne struggled through a severe drought and water restrictions were imposed in the summer of 196768. As a result, plans for construction of Cardinia and Thomson Reservoirs were advanced.