Barwon Water at a glance
Barwon Water (Barwon Region Water Corporation) is Victoria’s largest regional urban water corporation. We have a proud history supporting regional prosperity by providing excellence in water, sewerage and recycled water services to our customers and the community for more than 110 years.
Vision:
A prosperous region.
Mission:
To strengthen the economic, social, cultural and environmental prosperity of our region through the delivery of sustainable, affordable, innovative and reliable water and sewerage services.
Our customers
We deliver high-quality, affordable and reliable water services to more than 320,000 permanent residents – reaching up to 545,000 people during the peak holiday periods.
92% of our customer base is residential, with the remaining 8% a mixture of commercial, industrial, and agricultural customers.
Around 30% of metered consumption is attributed to non-domestic customers.
Our region
Our region of responsibility stretches over 8,100 square kilometres, 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.
Local councils
The City of Greater Geelong, Borough of Queenscliffe, Surf Coast Shire, Colac-Otway Shire and part of the Golden Plains Shire are within our service region.
Our infrastructure
We own and operate approximately $2.8 billion in infrastructure, including:
Water sources
Geelong’s drinking water is sourced from catchments on the upper Barwon and Moorabool rivers, the Victorian water grid via the Melbourne to Geelong Pipeline, and an underground aquifer at Anglesea.
Colac is sourced 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 via the Wurdee Boluc channel near Muroon.
Lorne and Apollo Bay have discrete water sources, and are not connected to the Geelong or Colac systems.
Annual report
Our annual report includes key facts and figures, financial and environmental performance, water consumption and corporate information.
Our annual report is compliant with financial and reporting directive (FRD) 30, which prescribes design and print specifications to ensure consistency, cost minimisation and low environmental impact.
Pricing plan
Our five-year pricing plan outlines prices, service standards, infrastructure and operational investments for the regulatory period from 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2028.
The plan was developed in partnership with our customers, communities and key stakeholders over the past five years – our most significant customer engagement ever completed – and responds to customers’ suggestions, ideas and feedback on balancing the investment and delivery of water, sewerage and recycled water services at prices that are fair and affordable for all customers.
Our 2023-2028 pricing submission was approved in June 2023 by the Essential Services Commission, the independent regulator of the water sector. The commission rated our submission as ‘advanced’, noting that it will deliver better value for customers.
Employer of choice
As a major employer in the region, we have approximately 300 operational, engineering, strategic planning, financial and administrative staff.
We embrace diversity and are committed to equal opportunity and fairness in the workplace.
History
Barwon Water was constituted in February 1994, but its history dates back more than 110 years to the establishment of the Geelong Municipal Waterworks Trust in 1908.
Management and governance
Barwon Water is a statutory corporation under the Water Act 1989.
We have an 8-member Board of Directors, and operate under a Statement of Obligations issued by the Minister for Water.
Our prices and service standards are regulated by the independent Essential Services Commission.