Building the reservoir
Water supply in the region began in 1890 with the construction of a pipe head weir on Falls Creek, along with a cast iron pipeline supplying to Wallis Hill and a reticulation system throughout town.
Constructed in 1895 by contractors Riley Brothers at a cost of 2,020 pounds and 12 shillings, the Trawool Reservoir structure was a key part of the early water supply system in the Seymour district. It has remained largely unchanged since, although a new pipe head weir was constructed in 1921 to improve pressure along the water main.
It features a distinctive 106-meter-long and 7-meter-high granite ashlar masonry wall which still stands. Granite for the reservoir wall was mined locally – you can still see unused slabs at the quarry area below the reservoir, below the road path.
The reservoir and pipe head weir are protected by heritage overlays.
The reservoir is about 120m by 110m in size and holds about 100 megalitres of water at capacity.
Key dates:
- 1889 – Seymour Water Trust is established
- 1890 – Pipe head weir works begin on Falls Creek
- 1891 – Pipe head weir completed
- 1893 – First Seymour Water Board rates gazetted, first water supply agreements signed (William Thomas, public of Trawool). Agreement signed with Victorian Railways
- 1895 – Major reservoir on Falls Creek completed by contractors Reilly Bros