There are 3 of these corporations which provide service to Metropolitan Melbourne. These corporations purchase their water from Melbourne Water (the wholesaler). They provide water and sewer services to homes and businesses throughout Melbourne.
The 3 are: Greater Western Water, South East Water and Yarra Valley Water.
The service area for Greater Western Water covers Melbourne’s city centre to Lancefield and an area of about 3,700 square km.
It services an area from Werribee to the Melbourne CBD and as far north as the Macedon Ranges.
South East Water covers the south eastern suburbs of Melbourne from Port Melbourne to Portsea and as far east as Pakenham.
Yarra Valley Water is the water corporation serving much of northern and eastern Melbourne.
It has a service area of 4,000 square kilometres and our network consists of around 20,000 kilometres of water and sewer mains.
Melbourne Water
Melbourne Water has a unique position among water corporations. They act as the wholesaler, managing the supply and distribution across the Melbourne metropolitan area.
They also act as the Catchment Management Authority for the Port Phillip and Westernport region.
Urban (regional) water corporations
Twelve water corporations provide water and sewerage services in regional cities and towns across the state.
Barwon Water serves the area from Little River and the Bellarine Peninsula in the east, to Colac in the west, and from Meredith and Cressy in the north, to Apollo Bay on Victoria’s south-west coast.
Central Highlands Water delivers water and sewerage services to customers and communities in Victoria’s Central Highlands region. It provides water, sewerage, recycled water and trade waste services to over 140,000 residents and 5,000 businesses.
Central Highland Water’s service area covers some 9,000 square kilometres, including the City of Ballarat and the communities of Maryborough, Daylesford and surrounding areas.
Coliban Water delivers drinking water, sewerage, trade waste and recycled water services to over 160,00 residents and close to 7,000 businesses in north-central Victoria. Coliban Water also supplies rural water to some 1,300 farming and agricultural customers across its service region.
Coliban Water’s service area covers 16,500 square kilometres, including the City of Greater Bendigo, and stretches from Cohuna and Echuca in the north to Kyneton and Trentham in the south.
East Gippsland Water is a regional urban water corporation serving customers and communities in Victoria’s south-eastern corner. It provides drinking water, sewerage, recycled water and trade waste services to a population of 35,000 residents and over 3,000 businesses.
East Gippsland Water’s service area extends over 21,000 square kilometres from Lindenow and Bairnsdale in the west, to the Wilderness Coast and Mallacoota near the New South Wales border. It also serves customers as far north as Dinner Plain in the High Country of the Victorian Alps.
Gippsland Water provides drinking water, sewage collection and treatment, recycled water, and trade waste services to customers in Central Gippsland. It serves a population of 147,000 people and more than 6,000 businesses.
Its service area extends over a 5,000 square kilometre area from Drouin in the west to Loch Sport in the east, and from Briagolong in the north to Mirboo North in the south.
Gippsland Water also produces a combination of beef, crops and plantation timber at 12 sites across their region as part of an agribusiness arm.
Goulburn Valley Water is an urban water corporation operating in Victoria’s Hume Region. It provides drinking water, sewerage collection and treatment, recycled water and trade waste services to a population of over 125,000 residents and 6,000 businesses.
Goulburn Valley Water’s area of responsibility extends across 20,000 square kilometres, from the outskirts of Melbourne in the south to the Murray River in the north.
Grampians Wimmera Mallee Water provides an urban water service to approximately 32,000 properties. They also provide a rural water service to approximately 11,000 properties.
The service area extends from Ouyen in the north to Ararat in the south and west to the South Australian border.
Lower Murray Water delivers an urban water supply along the Murray River – from Kerang to the South Australian border – in the municipalities of Gannawarra, Swan Hill and Mildura.
LMW operates the collection, treatment, storage, and delivery of water to approximately 35,000 households along the Murray River. They also provide wastewater collection, treatment and effluent re-use and disposal services to more than 74,000 customers.
LMW also provides rural water service to 2,666 irrigation and 2,240 stock and domestic customers in 4 irrigation districts.
North East Water provides drinking water, sewerage, recycled water and trade waste services to a population of more than 100,000 people and 4,000 businesses in Victoria’s north east.
North East Water’s service area extends across 20,000 square kilometres along the Murray River from Corryong to Yarrawonga, then south to Benalla and the alpine towns of Bright, Mount Beauty and Dartmouth. It includes the urban centres of Wodonga and Wangaratta.
South Gippsland Water provides drinking water, sewerage, recycled water and trade waste services to a population of more than 31,000 residents and 3,000 businesses in the South Gippsland region of Victoria.
Its service area covers 4,000 square kilometres and stretches along the coastline from Cape Paterson in the west to just beyond Port Albert in the east. Its northern boundary extends from Nyora to Devon North.
Wannon Water is Victoria's second largest regional urban water corporation by service area. It delivers water, sewerage, recycled water and trade waste services to over 100,000 residents and more than 4,000 businesses.
It also supplies non-drinkable water for use on over 1,000 rural properties.
Wannon Water’s customers are spread over an area of 23,500 square kilometres in south-west Victoria. Its service area extends from the South Australian border in the west to Lismore in the east, and from Victoria’s south coast to Balmoral in the north.
Westernport Water provides water and sewerage services in Victoria’s Western Port region. These services are provided to a population of over 20,150 residents and 1,044 non-residential customers.
Westernport Water’s service area includes Millowl (Phillip Island) and mainland towns stretching from The Gurdies to Archies Creek.
Rural water corporations
These water corporations provide rural water services, including water supply, drainage, and salinity mitigation services for irrigation and domestic and stock purposes.
Goulburn-Murray Water is Australia’s largest rural water corporation. They manage, store and deliver water through approximately 10,000 km of delivery and drainage infrastructure to more than 25,000 active customers in northern Victoria.
They manage water related services in a region of 68,000 square kilometres, bordered by the Great Dividing Range in the south and the River Murray in the north, stretching from Corryong in the east down river to Nyah. This area supports diverse agricultural commodities including dairy, cropping, horticulture, beef and sheep.
Grampians Wimmera Mallee Water provides domestic and stock water services to 11,000 rural customers. A bulk water supply is also available to rural customers, typically for intensive agricultural activities such as poultry farms, piggeries and commercial feedlots.
Grampians Wimmera Mallee Water also provides an urban water service to approximately 32,000 properties. The service area extends from Ouyen in the north to Ararat in the south and west to the South Australian border.
Lower Murray Water delivers a rural water supply along the Murray River – from Kerang to the South Australian border – in the municipalities of Gannawarra, Swan Hill and Mildura. They service 2,666 irrigation and 2,240 stock and domestic customers.
LMW also provides an urban water service to more than 74,000 customers in the area's cities and towns.
Southern Rural Water services an area of 88,000 square kilometers, stretching from the South Australian to the New South Wales border and from the Great Dividing Range to the Victorian coastline.
