Suma Park Dam impounds the water of Summer Hill Creek to form Suma Park Reservoir, the primary source of water for Orange, New South Wales

Orange, New South Wales

Orange is a city in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia. It is west of the state capital, Sydney, at an altitude of . Orange has an estimated population of 39,329 and the city is a major provincial centre....

, 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...

. It is located approximately four kilometres east of Orange, with the secondary water source Spring Creek Reservoir being located approximately four kilometres to the south-east of Orange. Built in 1962, Suma Park Dam is owned and maintained by Orange City Council

City of Orange

The City of Orange is a Local Government Area of New South Wales, Australia, including Orange and the surrounding areas. It is on the Mitchell Highway and the Main Western railway line.It includes the villages of Lucknow, Shadforth, Spring Hill and March....

.

The reservoir's 179 square kilometres (69.1 sq mi) catchment area includes three reservoirs—Suma Park Reservoir itself, Spring Creek and Spring Creek Reservoir and Gosling Creek along with Gosling Creek Reservoir

Gosling Creek Reservoir

Gosling Creek Reservoir, located just to the south of Orange, New South Wales at ) was the first significant water supply reservoir for Orange, opening in 1890. Subsequently further water supply dams were built at Lake Canobolas in 1918 and then Spring Creek Reservoir in 1931...

—along with feeder creeks which are mostly to the south and south-east of the Orange urban area. When full, Suma Park Reservoir has a storage capacity of some 18,000 megalitres and a surface area of 1.3 square kilometre (0.501932806170296 sq mi). Water is pumped up 110 metres (360.9 ft) to the water treatment plant on Icely Road through a pipe 4.2 kilometres (2.6 mi) long and 600 millimetres (23.6 in) in diameter.

Surveillance and dam safety inspections are conducted regularly by Orange City Council staff. Prior to the construction of Suma Park Dam, Lake Canobolas

Lake Canobolas

Lake Canobolas, formerly known as Meadow Creek Dam, is a body of water located approximately 10 kilometres to the south west of Orange, New South Wales. The dam was constructed in 1918 by the then Canobolas Shire Council as water supply to Orange. Since that time the administration of the dam has...

 (then known as Meadow Creek Dam) on the Molong Creek was also used as a domestic water source; however, it is now a passive recreation area.