Indigenous History
South central Victoria is home to the Kulin nation – an alliance of five Aboriginal tribes. Collectively, their territory extends...
Our Water Supply Story
European settler John Batman occupies the banks of the Yarra River. As settlement grows, so does the demand for a reliable water...
Our Water Supply Story
With the discovery of gold around this time Melbourne's population booms and so does its thirst for water. Construction begins on...
Our Water Supply Story
Yan Yean historic...
Our Water Supply Story
Let Gilbert take you on...
Our Water Supply Story
In order to provide the best quality water for this growing city, the Government moves to protect the Yarra River at its source....
Our Water Supply Story
Our water is...
Our Water Supply Story
As the city grows to half a million people, even more water is needed. This time we go back to the source, near Healesville, to...
Our Water Supply Story
Compare then to...
Our Water Supply Story
The city keeps growing. Something has to be done. So the Government forms the Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works (MMBW) to...
Our Water Supply Story
A giant global recession hits around this time known as the Great Depression. Our Government undertakes a major public works...
Our Water Supply Story
Maroondah...
Our Water Supply Story
After delays caused by World War II, construction resumes on the Upper Yarra Reservoir and on a major scheme of pipelines and...
Our Water Supply Story
Boom times in the 1950s – along with the Government's post-war decision to increase our population through immigration – creates...
Our Water Supply Story
A MMBW report predicts Melbourne's population will rise to 5 million by the year 2000 and it outlines planned works for the next...
Our Water Supply Story
Planning for Melbourne's...
Our Water Supply Story
Planning for Melbourne's...
Our Water Supply Story
To meet growing demand in the Western suburbs, particularly during summer, a reservoir is completed at Greenvale. Greenvale is an...
Our Water Supply Story
Australia recognises the health benefits of water fluoridation. MMBW therefore begins construction on local fluoridation plants...
Our Water Supply Story
Work is completed on the Sugarloaf Reservoir Project, which includes a major pumping station and water treatment plant,...
Our Water Supply Story
How the Winneke Treatment Plant...
Our Water Supply Story
Water supply...
Our Water Supply Story
Concerns around Melbourne's ability to cope with sustained drought conditions leads to the construction of the Thomson Reservoir...
Our Water Supply Story
The Thomson...
Our Water Supply Story
How to build a dam - part...
Our Water Supply Story
How to build a dam - part...
Our Water Supply Story
Rawson...
Our Water Supply Story
Thomson Dam...
Our Water Supply Story
Thomson Dam...
Our Water Supply Story
Reform is required and MMBW is systematically merged with a number of smaller urban water authorities to form Melbourne Water....
Our Water Supply Story
Know your water...
Our Water Supply Story
With Melbourne suffering drought conditions, water restrictions are progressively increased from Stage 1 in 2002 to Stage 3a in...
Our Water Supply Story
The devastating Black Saturday bushfires damage about 30% of Melbourne's water supply catchments in some capacity. Most of this...
Our Water Supply Story
The Millennium...
Our Water Supply Story
Dam storage...
Our Water Supply Story
Water usage...
Our Water Supply Story
The North-South Pipeline (also known as the Sugarloaf Pipeline) – a 70-kilometre pipe that carries water from the Goulburn River...
Our Water Supply Story
The Millennium Drought shows the need for a diversified water supply system. To secure Melbourne's water supplies and cater for a...
Our Water Supply Story
Victorian Desalination...
Our Water Supply Story
Integrated water...
Our Water Supply Story
Melbourne's water supply...
Our Water Supply Story
More than 400 billion litres...
Our Sewerage Story
From 1835 the population of Melbourne grows quickly, first as a hub for rural areas, then as the gold rush leads to the city's...
Our Sewerage Story
Melbourne way back...
Our Sewerage Story
With the discovery of gold, Melbourne becomes one of the richest cities on earth. Soon the population grows to about half a...
Our Sewerage Story
Marvellous...
Our Sewerage Story
By now the city of Melbourne is experiencing a public health and sanitation crisis. A Royal Commission into the situation in 1888...
Our Sewerage Story
The Royal Commission brings about change, with the Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works (MMBW) formed to take responsibility...
Our Sewerage Story
Development of Melbourne's Sewerage...
Our Sewerage Story
Construction begins on Melbourne's first sewerage system. A system of pipes, sewers and drains is built – mostly by pick and...
Our Sewerage Story
Spotswood Pumping...
Our Sewerage Story
In what was a huge milestone for the city, the Western Treatment Plant, then known as Werribee Farm, begins operations and the...
Our Sewerage Story
Thunderboxes and chamber...
Our Sewerage Story
Tour the treatment...
Our Sewerage Story
By 1915, the Metropolitan Sewage Farm's permanent workforce grows to 171 employees. From day one a permanent workforce lives at...
Our Sewerage Story
Video -...
Our Sewerage Story
Video - Cocoroc football...
Our Sewerage Story
Video - Cocoroc...
Our Sewerage Story
The village of...
Our Sewerage Story
Melbourne grows eastward, creating the need for a second treatment plant. The Braeside Treatment Plant at Mordialloc begins...
Our Sewerage Story
A new pumping station is built at Brooklyn to keep up with the increase in Melbourne's population. It has eight large pumps and...
Our Sewerage Story
Melbourne's Eastern suburbs continue to grow at a frenetic pace. With the ageing Braeside Eastern Treatment Plant decommissioned,...
Our Sewerage Story
Tour the treatment...
Our Sewerage Story
The Western Treatment Plant is a safe haven for tens of thousands of birds as well as frogs and other native animals. The site...
Our Sewerage Story
Learn more about the different bird species at the Western Treatment...
Our Sewerage Story
Apply for a bird watching permit at the Western Treatment...
Our Sewerage Story
The first modern lagoon is installed at the Western Treatment Plant. At 200 hectares, it is one of the largest in the world. Raw...
Our Sewerage Story
Read about the lagoon...
Our Sewerage Story
The release of a CSIRO report in 1996 on the health of Port Phillip Bay leads to a $160 million upgrade of the sewage treatment...
Our Sewerage Story
Activated Sludge...
Our Sewerage Story
Microscopic...
Our Sewerage Story
Read more about the recent the ongoing environmental benefits being achieved from sewage treatment at the Western Treatment...
Our Sewerage Story
Learn more about the Werribee Irrigation District by visiting Southern Rural Water's...
Our Sewerage Story
Westside water...
Our Sewerage Story
Recycling guidelines...
Our Sewerage Story
As the public demands higher environmental standards and technology improves, the Eastern Treatment Plant is earmarked for an...
Our Sewerage Story
Not all sewage is treated...
Our Sewerage Story
Boags Rocks water...
Our Sewerage Story
Melbourne's sewerage system includes 402 km of underground sewers. If we laid out the sewer pipes, we could reach the South...
Our Sewerage Story
Get the dirt on sewer...
Our Sewerage Story
Help keep sewers...
Our Sewerage Story
Every wondered if sewers get cleaned?...
Our Sewerage Story
Works in your...
Our Sewerage Story
The Eastern Treatment Plant upgrade to advance tertiary treatment is now complete, making it one of the most advanced and...
Our Sewerage Story
The Eastern Treatment...
Our Sewerage Story
Get the dirt on sewer...
Our Sewerage Story
The Western Treatment Plant has changed constantly since it began treating sewage in 1897. The future plans for the site include...
Our Drainage Story
Melbourne's early settlers become aware of the Yarra River's natural flood zone when the river floods on Christmas Eve 1839. With...
Our Drainage Story
As Melbourne's population grows, areas close to the city such as South Melbourne and Richmond begin to develop. Their proximity...
Our Drainage Story
The evolution of...
Our Drainage Story
With the gold rush over, the search for farming land close to Melbourne becomes the focus. Land is made available for farming at...
Our Drainage Story
History of he Carrum Carrum...
Our Drainage Story
Drainage Story of a...
Our Drainage Story
With many warnings and close calls over the years, disaster finally strikes. The riverside suburbs of Collingwood, Richmond,...
Our Drainage Story
Rowing down Toorak...
Our Drainage Story
In an effort to stop the city from repeatedly flooding, the Metropolitan Drainage and Rivers Act is established. This makes...
Our Drainage Story
Extreme storms cause widespread flooding. Port Phillip Bay experiences record high tides. The Yarra River reaches 12 meters above...
Our Drainage Story
In the 1950s, the Melbourne Metropolitan Board of Works (MMBW) is responsible for town planning as well as drainage, sewage and...
Our Drainage Story
Melbourne's retarding...
Our Drainage Story
Environmental issues become a feature of the late 1960s and early 70s. Newspapers carry images of polluted creeks and drains and...
Our Drainage Story
Flash flooding in the Maribyrnong River, Moonee Ponds Creek and Merri Creek causes havoc. In response to this disaster, the MMBW...
Our Drainage Story
The Drainage of Lands Act of 1975 and other legislative changes strengthen the MMBW's responsibilities for drainage and...
Our Drainage Story
PDF of flood risk...
Our Waterways Story
With our waterways such as rivers, estuaries and wetlands home to many plants and animals, including frogs, platypus and...
Our Waterways Story
Why environmental flows are the...
Our Waterways Story
Monitoring our water...
Our Waterways Story
Wetlands play an important role in the health of our environment by filtering pollutants and providing a sanctuary for plant and...
Our Waterways Story
Melbourne's...
Our Waterways Story
Visit a...
Our Waterways Story
Western Treatment Plant – bird...
Our Waterways Story
What is the Ramsar...
Our Waterways Story
One of Melbourne Water's objectives is to make our waterways more accessible for the public to enjoy. A huge milestone in this...
Our Waterways Story
Yarra gets weekly health...
Our Waterways Story
Yes way to fishway on...
Our Waterways Story
Know your...
Our Waterways Story
Keeping our waterways healthy requires a community-wide response. And so, the Waterwatch program is founded around this time that...
Our Waterways Story
Become a citizen...
Our Waterways Story
It's not easy being...
Our Waterways Story
Help protect the...
Our Waterways Story
Heavy rains flood homes along the Maribyrnong River in 1974, when too much water enters the river from stormwater drains. The...
Our Waterways Story
Learn the dirty truth...
Our Waterways Story
Monitoring our river...
Our Waterways Story
With one eye on the future, the Melbourne Metropolitan Board of Works is merged with a number of smaller urban water authorities...
Our Waterways Story
Everyone drink the...
Our Waterways Story
Earth's natural water...
Our Waterways Story
Urban water...
Our Waterways Story
The Healthy Bay Initiative – a five-year study into the health of Port Phillip Bay – calls for a reduction in the amount of...
Our Waterways Story
Waterways the way...
Our Waterways Story
Urban water...
Our Waterways Story
More great teaching...
Our Waterways Story
Manmade wetlands to the...
Our Urban Water Story
With one eye on the future, the Melbourne Metropolitan Board of Works is merged with a number of smaller urban water authorities...
Our Urban Water Story
MCG scores with recycled...
Our Urban Water Story
Explore by foot or by...
Our Urban Water Story
Squeezing water from...
Our Urban Water Story
With drought conditions ravaging Melbourne, water restrictions are progressively increased from Stage 1 in 2002 to Stage 3a in...
Our Urban Water Story
Victorians urged to save...
Our Urban Water Story
The Millennium...
Our Urban Water Story
Where the grass is definitely...
Our Urban Water Story
Kicking goals with recycled...
Our Urban Water Story
The Millennium Drought quickly forces the State Government to rethink its water strategy. In response, it comes up with a...
Our Urban Water Story
Ingenious stormwater harvesting...
Our Urban Water Story
Our Water Our Future...
Our Urban Water Story
Stormwater strategy for...
Our Urban Water Story
With Melbourne's water storages receding every month and our garden city dry withered, the Millennium Drought shows the need for...
Our Urban Water Story
Victorian Desalination...
Our Urban Water Story
AquaSure builds desalination...
Our Urban Water Story
Integrated water...
Our Urban Water Story
Melbourne's water security takes another step in the right direction with the completion of the Victorian Desalination Plant. By...
Our Urban Water Story
Groundwater...
Our Urban Water Story
Managing aquifer...
Our Urban Water Story
2007 Commonwealth Water...
Our Urban Water Story
One of the worst droughts ever recorded finally breaks, with Melbourne's major catchments receiving their highest annual rainfall...
Our Urban Water Story
Lessons learnt from the...
Our Urban Water Story
Recycled water becomes...
Our Urban Water Story
Urban stormwater...
Our Urban Water Story
Stricter rules for new homes is just one of the many outcomes of the Millennium Drought. Rainwater tanks therefore become...
Our Urban Water Story
Saving water at...
Our Urban Water Story
Reusing household greywater...
Our Urban Water Story
Don't waste your...
Our Liveable City
Population growth, affordability pressures and lifestyle choices see more and more apartments spring up around inner city areas....
Our Liveable City
Adapting Melbourne for climate...
Our Liveable City
Concerns around climate change lead to the creation of a Melbourne Water System Strategy, due for release in 2017. The strategy's...
Our Liveable City
Resilient...
Our Liveable City
Community involvement in caring for our waterways, stronger environmental regulation, a more sustainable approach to urban...
Our Liveable City
Mount Waverley stormwater harvesting...
Our Liveable City
Maximizing water management...
Our Liveable City
By the year 2025 an extra 1 billion people are living on planet Earth, taking the world's population to a staggering 8 billion...
Our Liveable City
Cities of the...
Our Liveable City
Half of the world's largest cities experience water shortages as early as 2014, with 2.5 billion people unable to access safe and...
Our Liveable City
The future for recycled...
Our Liveable City
Heatwaves increase in length, frequency and intensity as climate change becomes a reality, gripping the world.
In...
Our Liveable City
Water sensitive urban...
Our Liveable City
Our worst natural...
Our Liveable City
City of Kingston goes...
Our Liveable City
Despite all the challenges climate change and population growth throw at us, by the middle of the century a liveable and...
Our Liveable City
Fly through a city of the...
Expand Menu
Expand Menu
Close Menu
Indigenous History
The first Australians
Our Water Supply Story
Settlement begins
Melbourne's first reservoir
Catchment protection begins
Population hits half a million
Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works
Major public works
War ends and construction resumes
Upper Yarra Reservoir completed
Planning for growth
Water for the west
Fluoride for stronger teeth
Melbourne continues to grow
Our biggest reservoir yet
Major changes to our water industry
Drought and water restrictions hit
Fire and drought take their toll
North-South Pipeline
Desalination and integrated water supply
Our Sewerage Story
Settlement along the Yarra River
Victorian gold rush
Royal Commission into health crisis
Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works
Sewerage system underway
Werribee Farm connected
Werribee Farm creates jobs
Second treatment plant opens
A new pumping station for the west
Eastern Treatment Plant opens
Western Treatment Plant wetlands are of international importance
Modern lagoons installed
Improvements for the Western Treatment Plant
Eastern Treatment Plant upgraded
Looking after Melbourne's hidden sewers
Plant upgrade complete
The gem in the west
Our Drainage Story
Unpredictable Melbourne
Inner city areas take shape
Farming at Carrum Carrum Swamp
The Great Flood
Time to act
Large-scale drainage works begin
Melbourne's urban sprawl
Focus turns to the environment
Floods lead to better monitoring
Time to mimic nature
Our Waterways Story
Our waterways protected by law
Wetlands of international importance
Yarra Trail and litter traps
Citizen scientists get involved
Flood warning system tested
Melbourne Water is formed
Manmade wetlands to the rescue
Our Urban Water Story
Melbourne Water formed to future-proof city
Drought and water restrictions hit hard
Watershed moment for water
Victorian Desalination Plant approved
Desalination water enters the system
Millennium Drought finally ends
Rainwater tanks become compulsory
Our Liveable City
Urban heat becomes a hot topic
Future water strategy for Melbourne
People power brings about change
World population hits 8 billion
Water scarcity a worldwide issue
Climate change brings extreme weather
The future is clear and green
Close Menu
F - Year 2
F - Year 2
Year 3-4
Year 3-4
Year 5-6
Year 5-6
Year 7-8
Year 7-8
Year 9-10
Year 9-10
Melbourne Water
Search
Explore the story
Teacher Resources
Search
Explore the story
Teacher Resources