Sugarloaf Reservoir is a reservoir at Christmas Hills 35 km north-east of the

Melbourne central business district The Melbourne central business district (colloquially known as "the City" or "the CBD", and gazetted simply as Melbourne) is the city centre of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. As of the 2021 census, the CBD had a population of 54,941, and is ...

History

The structure was completed by Thiess Brothers in 1981, and has a total capacity of 96 gigalitres. Sugarloaf Reservoir includes a major pumping station and water treatment plant. Sugarloaf uses water pumped from the

Yarra River The Yarra River or historically, the Yarra Yarra River, (Kulin languages: ''Berrern'', ''Birr-arrung'', ''Bay-ray-rung'', ''Birarang'', ''Birrarung'', and ''Wongete'') is a perennial river in south-central Victoria, Australia. The lower st ...

at Yering Gorge and water transferred from Maroondah Reservoir via the Maroondah aqueduct. Sugarloaf is important in meeting peak summer demand in the northern parts of

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

. In February 2010, the

North South Pipeline North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...

was completed, connecting the

Goulburn River The Goulburn River, a major inland perennial river of the Goulburn Broken catchment, part of the Murray-Darling basin, is located in the Alpine, Northern Country/North Central, and Southern Riverina regions of the Australian state of Victor ...

to the reservoir. It is the government's policy that water from the Goulburn only be used in times of critical human need: when Melbourne's total water storages are less than 30% full on 30 November of any year. The Sugarloaf Reservoir is operated by

Melbourne Water Melbourne Water is an Australian statutory authority owned by the Victorian State Government, which controls and manages much of the water bodies and supplies in metropolitan Melbourne, the capital of Victoria. Its jurisdiction includes all t ...

Recreational facilities

Sugarloaf Sailing Club

The Sugarloaf Sailing Club operates on the reservoir year round. The club can be found on Ridge Road off the Eltham-Yarra Glen Road. The club runs over 40 races throughout the year in four series, "Winter", "Spring", "Summer" and "Autumn". There is a strong racing fraternity at Sugarloaf who can be found on the lake on race days, rain, hail or shine. New members can use the boats from the club fleet without further charges. The club also conducts sailability on the first Wednesday of the month during the warmer months. Sailability is sailing for all including the young, the elderly and disabled, uses dinghies which are unsinkable, uncapsizable and good fun.

Recreational fishing and walks

Sugarloaf Reservoir is also a very popular waterway for recreational fishing.

Rainbow A rainbow is an optical phenomenon caused by refraction, internal reflection and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a continuous spectrum of light appearing in the sky. The rainbow takes the form of a multicoloured circular ...

and

brown trout The brown trout (''Salmo trutta'') is a species of salmonid ray-finned fish and the most widely distributed species of the genus ''Salmo'', endemic to most of Europe, West Asia and parts of North Africa, and has been widely introduced globally ...

redfin Redfin Corporation is an American company that provides residential real estate brokerage and mortgage origination services. Based in Seattle, the company operates in more than 100 markets in the United States and Canada. In 2024, the company h ...

, roach and European carp can be caught in these waters all year round. No natural bait or berley is permitted, there are signs posted around the reservoir stating this. This is due to the reservoir being an integral component of Melbourne's domestic water supply. There have been studies conducted that suggest that the mercury levels in the redfin (and most likely other predatory fish in the reservoir) are higher than is regarded safe for human consumption. Sugar loaf also boasts some amazing views at the peaks of the loops of the reservoir where you can see all the way to the CBD.

References

External links

Melbourne Water - Sugarloaf Reservoir
{{Lakes of Victoria, state=collapsed Reservoirs in Victoria (state) Melbourne Water catchment Rivers of Greater Melbourne (region) Dams completed in 1981 Embankment dams 1981 establishments in Australia Yarra Ranges Shire