Melbourne’s Western Growth Area is one of the fastest growing areas of Australia. To service this large and rapid growth, significant new water infrastructure is required, including several major new storages, transfer mains and water supply zones.

UWS developed and staged the two short-listed options to provide water supply to the Melton Growth Area (Western Water) and to Greek Hill (City West Water) in Melbourne’s west. The impact of the additional demand on the existing Melbourne Water network was also assessed to determine the upgrades required to transfer water from the Greenvale and Winneke storage reservoirs.

Regular stakeholder meetings and workshops were held to refine both options. The financial, environmental and operational impacts for each option were assessed in a multi-criteria analysis review (MCA) and the preferred servicing strategy was selected for its operational flexibility and resilience/security of supply.

The project was a successful collaboration with Western Water, City West Water and Melbourne Water delivering solutions that service growth to these rapidly expanding communities.