Barwon Water is Victoria’s largest regional urban water corporation. It provides water, sewerage, recycled water and trade waste services to a population of more than 300,000 people over an area of 8,100 square kilometres.
Barwon Water’s service area includes the regional centres of Geelong and Colac. It covers coastal towns on the Bellarine Peninsula and Surf Coast including Torquay, Lorne and Apollo Bay, and inland areas from Little River to the east, Meredith to the north and Cressy in the west. Over the summer holiday period, the population serviced by Barwon Water can swell to over 500,000 people.
8,100 km2
Service Area
312,235
Population Served
314
Employees
158,109
92% residential
Urban Customers
33.5b litres
71% residential
Drinking Water Supplied
$234.5m
Annual Revenue
Want to know more? View the data for all 18 water corporations
Aboriginal acknowledgement
Barwon Water acknowledges Aboriginal peoples as the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the land on which we live and work, and the water on which we rely, and pays its respects to Elders – past and present.
Barwon Water’s service region includes parts of the traditional homelands of the Wadawurrung, Gulidjan and Gadubanud Aboriginal nations.
Barwon Water is committed to strong, meaningful partnerships with local indigenous groups to achieve positive and prosperous outcomes for all.
Service area
Local government areas served by Barwon Water include:
- Greater Geelong
- Queenscliffe
- Colac Otway
- Surf Coast
- Golden Plains (part)
Note: The below map is indicative only. Contact Barwon Water for more accurate and up-to-date service area information. You can also use our interactive map to check whether your location is serviced by Barwon Water.
Water sources
Geelong’s drinking water is supplied by catchments on the upper Barwon and Moorabool rivers. During periods of drought, the supply can be boosted from underground aquifers at Anglesea and Barwon Downs and the Victorian water grid via the Melbourne to Geelong pipeline.
Colac is supplied from the West Gellibrand and Olangolah reservoirs on the Gellibrand River in the Otway Ranges. During drought, Colac can be connected to the Geelong supply system.
Lorne and Apollo Bay have their own separate water supply systems.
More detailed information about water sources can be found on Barwon Water's website.
Assets at a glance
Barwon Water operates and maintains a range of assets, including the following water and sewerage infrastructure.
water treatment plants
Class A recycled water plants
water pre-treatment plants
sewerage pumping stations
Board of Directors
The Board of Directors is responsible for Barwon Water’s strategic planning and is accountable to the Minister for Water for the corporation’s performance. The Board is supported and advised by the Executive Leadership Team, who oversee the corporation’s day-to-day management under the leadership of the Managing Director.
Find out more about Barwon Water’s Board of Directors and how they are appointed.
More information
Website: www.barwonwater.vic.gov.au
Address: 55–67 Ryrie Street, Geelong VIC 3220
Postal: PO Box 659, Geelong, VIC 3220
Phone: 1300 656 007
Email: info@barwonwater.vic.gov.au
The information on this page was sourced from Barwon Water’s 2017-18 Annual Report and Barwon Water’s website as at October 2018.
Page last updated: 18/01/23