Candowie Reservoir, July 2023. Photos: Westernport Water
By Rob Parsons
FEW people in Bass Coast think about where their water comes from – until there’s a problem.
Turn on the tap in Corinella, Grantville, San Remo and across to Phillip Island, and you expect the water to flow. It’s only in the dry years, when restrictions loom and dam levels make the news, that attention shifts inland to a place few visit but everyone depends on: Candowie Reservoir.
Set back near Almurta, Candowie has no reason to draw a crowd but underpins daily life across a wide sweep of the coast, supplying communities from Pioneer Bay through to Phillip Island.
FEW people in Bass Coast think about where their water comes from – until there’s a problem.
Turn on the tap in Corinella, Grantville, San Remo and across to Phillip Island, and you expect the water to flow. It’s only in the dry years, when restrictions loom and dam levels make the news, that attention shifts inland to a place few visit but everyone depends on: Candowie Reservoir.
Set back near Almurta, Candowie has no reason to draw a crowd but underpins daily life across a wide sweep of the coast, supplying communities from Pioneer Bay through to Phillip Island.
The Candowie reservoir site after clearing, 1960s
The story of Candowie begins with a very different landscape. Before European settlement, the catchment was thick with swamp scrub and lowland forest, fed by Tennent Creek and its tributaries. That vegetation was largely cleared for grazing as farming took hold, and by the mid-20th century the area had been reshaped into productive farmland.
The next change was more abrupt and, for some families, more personal. Land was compulsorily acquired from local farmers – the Walker, Jones and Caldwell families among them – to make way for a reservoir that would serve a growing district.
The next change was more abrupt and, for some families, more personal. Land was compulsorily acquired from local farmers – the Walker, Jones and Caldwell families among them – to make way for a reservoir that would serve a growing district.
Candowie Reservoir was commissioned in 1964.
When Candowie was commissioned in 1964, it was modest in scale, holding just over 1100 megalitres. It did not take long for that to prove inadequate. The dam wall was raised in stages through the late 1970s and early 1980s, gradually increasing capacity to 2264 megalitres.
Even so, the system was vulnerable to the extremes that define Gippsland’s climate. Those vulnerabilities were laid bare during the drought of the 2000s. In 2006, rainfall in the catchment fell to just 595 millimetres – the lowest on record – and by the following year the reservoir had dropped to around seven per cent of capacity.
Even so, the system was vulnerable to the extremes that define Gippsland’s climate. Those vulnerabilities were laid bare during the drought of the 2000s. In 2006, rainfall in the catchment fell to just 595 millimetres – the lowest on record – and by the following year the reservoir had dropped to around seven per cent of capacity.
Candowie during the Millennium drought, when the reservoir level dropped to 7 per cent, 2007.
The images from that time are stark: an expanse of exposed earth where water should have been, and a community confronting the limits of its supply.
The response, when it came, was decisive. In 2013, after a $9.2 million upgrade, the dam wall was raised by three metres and storage capacity was almost doubled to 4463 megalitres. It was a substantial piece of work, carried out while the reservoir remained operational, and it changed the region’s water security.
In the years since, that decision has proven its worth. Periods that might once have brought severe restrictions have instead been managed, not without pressure, but without crisis.
The response, when it came, was decisive. In 2013, after a $9.2 million upgrade, the dam wall was raised by three metres and storage capacity was almost doubled to 4463 megalitres. It was a substantial piece of work, carried out while the reservoir remained operational, and it changed the region’s water security.
In the years since, that decision has proven its worth. Periods that might once have brought severe restrictions have instead been managed, not without pressure, but without crisis.
The Candowie upgrade project during construction, 2013 Candowie today is part of an integrated system that captures, treats and delivers water across the region. The Ian Bartlett Water Purification Plant, developed from the late 1980s and formally named in 1996, plays a central role in that process, ensuring that what flows from the catchment reaches households safely and reliably.
The reservoir itself sits within a catchment of about 1900 hectares, with inflows that in an average year can amount to nearly three times its original capacity, a reminder that the challenge has never simply been about supply but about capturing and holding water when it arrives.
Increasingly, attention has turned to the condition of the land that feeds the reservoir. Water quality is shaped by what happens upstream, and in recent years there has been a concerted effort to restore vegetation around Candowie. Landcare groups, supported by local schools, have been involved in planting tens of thousands of trees to help filter runoff and stabilise the catchment. In a sense, it is a partial return to the landscape that existed before clearing, driven now not by ecology alone but by the practical need to protect a vital resource.
The reservoir itself sits within a catchment of about 1900 hectares, with inflows that in an average year can amount to nearly three times its original capacity, a reminder that the challenge has never simply been about supply but about capturing and holding water when it arrives.
Increasingly, attention has turned to the condition of the land that feeds the reservoir. Water quality is shaped by what happens upstream, and in recent years there has been a concerted effort to restore vegetation around Candowie. Landcare groups, supported by local schools, have been involved in planting tens of thousands of trees to help filter runoff and stabilise the catchment. In a sense, it is a partial return to the landscape that existed before clearing, driven now not by ecology alone but by the practical need to protect a vital resource.
The upgrade almost doubled the reservoir's capacity to 4463 megalitres.
For all its importance, Candowie remains largely out of sight in public discussion. Roads, bridges and town infrastructure attract attention and debate; reservoirs tend not to, unless they fail. Yet as Bass Coast continues to grow and rainfall patterns become less predictable, the reliability of places like Candowie becomes more significant.
The 2013 upgrade was intended to serve the region for decades, and it has provided a valuable buffer against dry conditions, but it is not a permanent solution. Demand is rising, climate variability is increasing, and the margin for error is narrowing.
The story of Candowie is therefore not one of completion, but of ongoing adjustment to balance what falls from the sky with what can be stored and how carefully it is used.
The 2013 upgrade was intended to serve the region for decades, and it has provided a valuable buffer against dry conditions, but it is not a permanent solution. Demand is rising, climate variability is increasing, and the margin for error is narrowing.
The story of Candowie is therefore not one of completion, but of ongoing adjustment to balance what falls from the sky with what can be stored and how carefully it is used.
Candowie Reservoir, 2023