Toorourrong Reservoir is a small reservoir located on the southern slopes of the Great Dividing Range

Great Dividing Range

The Great Dividing Range, or the Eastern Highlands, is Australia's most substantial mountain range and the third longest in the world. The range stretches more than 3,500 km from Dauan Island off the northeastern tip of Queensland, running the entire length of the eastern coastline through...

 approximately 40 kilometres (24.9 mi) north of Melbourne

Melbourne

Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...

, 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...

. It is operated by Melbourne Water

Melbourne Water

Melbourne Water is a government owned statutory authority that controls much of the water system in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia including the reservoirs, and thesewerage and drainage system that services the city.- Overview :...

 and forms part of the Melbourne water supply system. Water from Toorourrong flows to Yan Yean Reservoir

Yan Yean Reservoir

Yan Yean Reservoir is the oldest water supply for the city of Melbourne, Australia. It is built on the Plenty River a tributary of the Yarra River, 30 km north of the city. A 9.5 metre embankment holds back 30,000 megalitres of water...

 by aqueduct.

Description

The reservoir is formed by an earthen dam across the eastern branch of the Plenty River

Plenty River

The Plenty River is a tributary of the Yarra River in Victoria, Australia. Originating in the forested slopes of Mount Disappointment, the Plenty River is the source of Melbourne's first major water supply in the form of the Yan Yean Reservoir....

 below the junction with Jacks Creek. The system was constructed in 1883–1885 as an extension of the Yan Yean water system. Water is diverted from Wallaby and Silver Creeks, on the northern side of the Great Dividing Range

Great Dividing Range

The Great Dividing Range, or the Eastern Highlands, is Australia's most substantial mountain range and the third longest in the world. The range stretches more than 3,500 km from Dauan Island off the northeastern tip of Queensland, running the entire length of the eastern coastline through...

 — via the open, granite-lined Wallaby Aqueduct — across the Great Dividing Range just east of Mount Disappointment

Mount Disappointment (Australia)

Mount Disappointment is an mountain, located on the southern end of The Great Dividing Range, north of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria , Australia...

, then into Jacks Creek and into the reservoir. The reservoir acts as a settling basin before the water travels 8 kilometres (5 mi) down the Clearwater Channel to Yan Yean. The reservoir catchments are within the Wallaby Creek section of the Kinglake National Park

Kinglake National Park

Kinglake is a national park in Victoria, Australia, 50 kilometres northeast of Melbourne. The park includes tracks , and camping facilities....

.

History

The Yan Yean Reservoir, completed in 1857, was Melbourne's first water supply system. In 1879 low dam levels showed that further water sources were necessary to meet increased demand from a growing population. The Wallaby Creek aqueduct was constructed in 1882–1883 to divert water from Wallaby Creek via Jacks Creek and the Plenty River to Yan Yean. The reservoir was constructed in 1883–1885 and linked to Yan Yean by the Clearwater Channel aqueduct, and the Wallaby Creek aqueduct was extended north to harvest Silver Creek. As water quality in the lower Plenty River had deteriorated, the intake from the river at Yan Yean Reservoir was closed and all water supply was drawn from the closed forest catchments via Toorourrong.

The reservoir and associated works are listed on the Victorian Heritage Register

Victorian Heritage Register

The Victorian Heritage Register lists places of cultural heritage significance to the State of Victoria, Australia. It has statutory weight under the Heritage Act 1995 which establishes Heritage Victoria as the permit authority...

.

Toorourrong Reservoir Park

Below the dam wall is the 12 hectares (29.7 acre) Toorourrong Reservoir Park. The park and surrounding forest were burned in the 2009 Victorian bushfires. The park is currently closed and is expected to reopen in late 2011.

In 2011, the City of Whittlesea

City of Whittlesea

The City of Whittlesea is a Local Government Area located in the outer northeastern suburbs of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia. The city covers an area of , and has an estimated population of 155,113 people.-History:...

’s Bushfires Memorial Working Group selected Toorourrong Reservoir as a site for a memorial to remember the impact of the Victorian bushfires on the local community.

There is a platypus

Platypus

The platypus is a semi-aquatic mammal endemic to eastern Australia, including Tasmania. Together with the four species of echidna, it is one of the five extant species of monotremes, the only mammals that lay eggs instead of giving birth to live young...

watching hide overlooking the reservoir. The Australian Platypus Conservatory was based at the reservoir from 1996 to 2007 and at that time the area supported approximately 30 platypus. The effect of the 2009 fires on the platypus is not currently known.