Melbourne households used 169 litres of water per person per day in 2024-25, up from 163 litres the year before and well above the voluntary Target 150. The rise came in the driest year in Melbourne's water supply catchments since 2002-03, when rainfall fell to 839 mm, 19.9% below the 30-year average.
Demand is rising on several fronts
Melbourne Water supplied 509 billion litres in 2024-25, 8% more than in the previous year. Residential use made up 65% of the total, non-residential use 23% and non-revenue water 12%. The three metropolitan retailers added 37,941 residential customers during the year, taking their total to 2,226,954, while Greater Melbourne's population grew by 105,030 to 5,435,590.
Storages now lean on desalination
Inflow to the four major harvesting storages was 305 billion litres in 2024-25, 36% below the 30-year average. System storage fell to 63.4% on 1 June 2026, then recovered to 69.3% by 1 September. Desalinated water provided 2.2 percentage points of that 5.9-point winter rise. For 2026/27, 150 GL was ordered from the Victorian Desalination Plant, its full annual capacity and three times the 50 GL ordered for 2025-26.
Summer is the next test
Use per person is still 22% below the level of a decade ago, but the four water corporations say restrictions are possible over summer 2026/27 if spring stays dry. Storage on 30 November sets the zone in next year's Annual Water Outlook. In December 2025 the 745 GL available to Melbourne was below the 760 GL trigger, placing the system in the Be Proactive Zone.
The report also explains who runs Melbourne's water, which projects sit in Melbourne Water's A$7.3 billion 2026-31 programme, how bills change in 2026-27 and which supply decisions are due in 2027.
The full report, Melbourne City Intelligence Profile, is available for USD 99 at https://ourfuturewaterintelligence.com/reports/melbourne-city-intelligence-profile. For a free overview, see https://ourfuturewaterintelligence.com/cities/melbourne.