Barwon Water is a government owned statutory authority

Statutory authority

A statutory authority is a body set up by law which is authorised to enforce legislation on behalf of the relevant country or state. They are typically found in countries which are governed by a British style of parliamentary democracy. They are common in the UK, Australia, New Zealand etc but...

 that controls much of the water system in Geelong, Victoria

Victoria (Australia)

Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 including the reservoir

Reservoir

A reservoir , artificial lake or dam is used to store water.Reservoirs may be created in river valleys by the construction of a dam or may be built by excavation in the ground or by conventional construction techniques such as brickwork or cast concrete.The term reservoir may also be used to...

s, and the sewerage

Sanitary sewer

A sanitary sewer is a separate underground carriage system specifically for transporting sewage from houses and commercial buildings to treatment or disposal. Sanitary sewers serving industrial areas also carry industrial wastewater...

 and drainage system

Drainage

Drainage is the natural or artificial removal of surface and sub-surface water from an area. Many agricultural soils need drainage to improve production or to manage water supplies.-Early history:...

 that services the city and surrounding districts. With a service area covering approximately 8100 square kilometres, the boundaries are Little River

Little River, Victoria

Little River is a town in Victoria, Australia, 51 km south-west from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area are the Cities of Wyndham and Greater Geelong. At the 2006 Census, Little River had a population of 375.-History:...

 in the north, the Bellarine Peninsula

Bellarine Peninsula

The Bellarine Peninsula is a peninsula located south-west of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia, surrounded by Port Phillip, Corio Bay and Bass Strait. The peninsula, together with the Mornington Peninsula separates Port Phillip from Bass Strait...

 in the east, Meredith

Meredith, Victoria

Meredith is a town in Victoria, Australia, located on the Midland Highway between Ballarat and Geelong.Meredith Post Office opened on 1 November 1854 and the railway came to the town with the opening of the Geelong-Ballarat line in 1862, with the local railway station opened soon after. Now only...

 and Cressy

Cressy, Victoria

Cressy is a country town in Victoria, Australia, about 38 km north of Colac on the Ballarat road. At the 2006 census, Cressy and the surrounding area had a population of 122.-History:...

 in the north, and Apollo Bay

Apollo Bay, Victoria

Apollo Bay is a coastal town in southwestern Victoria, Australia. It is situated on the eastern side of Cape Otway, along the edge of the Barham River and on the Great Ocean Road, in the Colac Otway Shire. The town has a population of 1380....

to the south-west.

The organisation dates back to 1908 when the Geelong Municipal Waterworks Trust was created, and expanded to become the Geelong Waterworks and Sewerage Trust in 1910. In 1984 the trust was merged with other local water and sewage authorities to form the Geelong and District Water Board, and again restructured to form the Barwon Region Water Authority in 1994 (trading as Barwon Water).