Watts River

Last updated

Watts
Australia Victoria relief location map.jpg
Red pog.svg
Mouth of the Watts River in Victoria
Native nameBroong-ku-galk (Woiwurrung) [1]
Location
Country Australia
State Victoria
Region South Eastern Highlands (IBRA), Central Victoria
Local government area Yarra Ranges Shire
Town Healesville
Physical characteristics
Source Yarra Ranges, Great Dividing Range
 • locationbelow Mount Vinegar
 • coordinates 37°39′31″S145°41′58″E / 37.65861°S 145.69944°E / -37.65861; 145.69944
 • elevation865 m (2,838 ft)
Mouth confluence with the Yarra River
 • location
south of Healesville
 • coordinates
 37°39′55″S145°29′20″E / 37.66528°S 145.48889°E / -37.66528; 145.48889 Coordinates: 37°39′55″S145°29′20″E / 37.66528°S 145.48889°E / -37.66528; 145.48889
 • elevation
77 m (253 ft)
Length29 km (18 mi)
Basin features
River system Port Phillip and Western Port catchment
Tributaries 
 • rightMeyers Creek
[2] [3]

The Watts River is a perennial river of the Port Phillip and Western Port catchment, located in the Healesville area, in the Central region of the Australian state of Victoria.

Contents

Location and features

The Watts River rises below Mount Vinegar in the Yarra Ranges, a part of the Great Dividing Range, within the Watts River Reference Area, near the settlement of Somers Park, north-east of Healesville. The river flows generally south, then north-west, then south-west, where it is impounded by the Maroondah Dam to create the 22,000-megalitre (780×10^6 cu ft) Maroondah Reservoir. [4] After flowing over the dam spillway, the river flows generally west by south, joined by Meyers Creek, [5] before reaching its confluence with the Yarra River south of Healesville. The river descends 788 metres (2,585 ft) over its 29-kilometre (18 mi) course. [3]

Watts River became part of Melbourne's water supply system in 1891, with the construction of a diversion weir and the Maroondah Aqueduct. At that time, the catchments were closed and cleared of human habitation. The river was dammed in 1927 to form the Maroondah Reservoir, which is largely contained in the forested reservoir catchment within the Yarra Ranges National Park. [4]

The river is traversed by the Maroondah Highway, upriver of the Maroondah Reservoir. [3]

Naming

In the Aboriginal Woiwurrung language, the name of the river is Broong-ku-galk, with galk meaning "timber" or "sticks". [1]

The European name derives from the surname of a stockman who drowned in the river in about 1843. [6]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yarra River</span> River in Victoria, Australia

The Yarra River or historically, the Yarra Yarra River, is a perennial river in south-central Victoria, Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maribyrnong River</span> River in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

The Maribyrnong River is a perennial river of the Port Phillip catchment, located in the north–western suburbs of Melbourne, in the Australian state of Victoria.

Melbourne Water is a Victorian Government-owned statutory authority that controls and manages much of the water bodies and supplies in metropolitan Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, including the reservoirs, lakes, wetlands, canals and urban creeks, and the sewerage and drainage systems that services the city.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bass River (Victoria)</span> River in Victoria, Australia

The Bass River, a perennial river of the Western Port catchment, is located in the West Gippsland region of the Australian state of Victoria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lang Lang River</span> River in Victoria, Australia

The Lang Lang River is a perennial river of the Western Port catchment, located in the West Gippsland region of the Australian state of Victoria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomson River (Victoria)</span> River in Victoria, Australia

The Thomson River, a perennial river of the West Gippsland catchment, is located in the Gippsland region of the Australian state of Victoria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Latrobe River</span> River in Victoria, Australia

The Latrobe River is a perennial river of the West Gippsland catchment, located in the West Gippsland region of the Australian state of Victoria. The Latrobe River and its associated sub-catchment is an important source for the Gippsland Lakes, draining the south eastern slopes of the Great Dividing Range.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Upper Yarra Reservoir</span> Body of water

The Upper Yarra Reservoir is located east of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, beyond Warburton within the locality of Reefton. Water from Upper Yarra Reservoir supplies towns in the upper Yarra Valley, and Silvan Reservoir, which transfers water to most parts of Melbourne.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plenty River (Victoria)</span> River in Victoria, Australia

The Plenty River is a perennial river of the Port Phillip catchment, located in the north-eastern Greater Melbourne region of the Australian state of Victoria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lakes and reservoirs of Melbourne</span>

Melbourne is the capital city of southeastern Australian state of Victoria and also the nation's second most populous city, and has been consistently voted one of the most liveable cities in the world. Located on the northern/eastern coastal plains of Port Phillip Bay, the city is the one of the drier capital cities in Australia, but due to its relatively flat terrain and the runoffs fed from surrounding highlands, still has many lakes, ponds and wetlands, mainly managed by Melbourne Water and Parks Victoria. The larger waterbodies are used for water sports, mostly boating but some are used for recreational activities like swimming, water skiing or model boating.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maroondah Dam</span> Dam in near Healesville Victoria

The Maroondah Dam is a rock-foundation concrete gravity dam with an uncontrolled rock-chute spillway across the Watts River, located in the Central region of the Australian state of Victoria. The storage created by the dam is called Maroondah Reservoir. The principal purpose of the dam and its reservoir is to supply potable water for Greater Metropolitan Melbourne.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicholson River (Victoria)</span> River in Victoria, Australia

The Nicholson River is a perennial river of the Mitchell River catchment, located in the East Gippsland region of the Australian state of Victoria.

The O'Shannassy Reservoir is an Australian man-made water supply dammed reservoir. The 3.123 GL water store across the O'Shannassy River is located near the locality of McMahons Creek, approximately 80 kilometres (50 mi) east of Melbourne, Victoria. The dam that creates the impoundment is called the O'Shannassy Dam.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">O'Shannassy River</span> River in Victoria, Australia

The O'Shannassy River is a perennial river of the Port Phillip catchment, located in the north-eastern Greater Metropolitan Melbourne region of the Australian state of Victoria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little Yarra River</span> River in Victoria, Australia

The Little Yarra River is a perennial river of the Port Phillip catchment, located in the Greater Metropolitan Melbourne region of the Australian state of Victoria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jackson Creek (Victoria)</span> River in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

The Jackson Creek is a watercourse of the Port Phillip catchment, located in the outer northern suburbs of Melbourne, in the Australian state of Victoria.

The Tyers River is a perennial river of the West Gippsland catchment, located in the West Gippsland region of the Australian state of Victoria.

The Don River is a perennial river of the Port Phillip catchment, located in the Central region of the Australian state of Victoria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steavenson River</span> River in Victoria, Australia

The Steavenson River, sometimes incorrectly referred to as Steavensons River, a minor inland perennial river of the Goulburn Broken catchment, part of the Murray-Darling basin, is located in the lower South Eastern Highlands bioregion and Northern Country/North Central regions of the Australian state of Victoria. The headwaters of the Steavenson River rise on the north–western slopes of the Yarra Ranges, below Mount Edgar and descend to flow into the Acheron River near Buxton.

Water management in Victoria deals with the management of water resources in and by the Australian State of Victoria.

References

  1. 1 2 "Historical Information". Vicnames. Government of Victoria. Archived from the original on 8 March 2014. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
  2. ↑ "Watts River: 29030". Vicnames. Government of Victoria. 2 May 1966. Retrieved 9 March 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 "Map of Watts River, VIC". Bonzle Digital Atlas of Australia. Retrieved 9 March 2014.
  4. 1 2 Ritchie, E. G. (October 1934). "Melbourne's Water Supply Undertaking" (PDF). Journal of Institution of Engineers Australia. 6: 379–382. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 February 2011.
  5. ↑ "Port Phillip and Westernport Regional River Health Strategy". Melbourne Water and Port Phillip and Westernport Catchment Management Authority. Retrieved 14 September 2010.
  6. ↑ "Latrobe Journal 97 Appendices" (PDF). State Library of Victoria. p. 103. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.