Wonthaggi desalination plant
Entry on Lower Powlett Rd
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 Location of Victorian Desalination Plant
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| Location | Dalyston, Victoria |
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| Coordinates | 38°35′16.8″S 145°31′33.6″E / 38.588000°S 145.526000°ECoordinates: 38°35′16.8″S 145°31′33.6″E / 38.588000°S 145.526000°E |
| Estimated output | 410 megalitres (14×106 cu ft) per day |
| Extended output | 550 megalitres (19×106 cu ft) per day |
| Cost | A$5.7 billion - A$19 billion |
| Energy generation offset | Windfarm at Glenthompson (proposed) |
| Technology | Reverse Osmosis (proposed) |
| Percent of water supply | Estimated 33% of Melbourne |
| Operation date | December 2012 |
The Victorian Desalination Plant (also referred to as the Victorian Desalination Project or Wonthaggi desalination plant) is a water desalination plant in Dalyston, on the Bass Coast in southern Victoria, Australia.
The desalination plant is the largest addition to Melbourne's water system since the Thomson River Dam was completed in 1983.
It was announced by Premier Steve Bracks in 2007 when Melbourne's water storages were at their equal lowest-ever level being 28.7 percent of capacity.
Increased Winter-Spring rains after mid 2007 took water storages above 40%., but it was not until 2011 that storages returned to pre-2006 levels.
When the facility was completed in December 2012 Melbourne's reservoirs were then at 81%. The plant was immediately put into standby mode.
The first water released for public use was in March 2017 via Cardinia Reservoir.
As a rainfall-independent source of water the desalination plant complements Victoria's existing drainage basins, being a useful resource in times of drought. It is a controversial part of Victoria's water system, with ongoing costs of $608 million a year.
The potential for a desalination plant was promoted through the late 2000s in response to an increasingly severe drought which saw Melbourne's water storages go from 57.1 per cent of capacity in January 2005 to 28.7 per cent in June 2007.
The project was part of the Victorian Government's "Our Water, Our Future" water plan which included associated projects such as the North-South Pipeline, the Cardinia Pipeline and a proposed interconnector to Geelong. The total average inflow into Melbourne dams from 1913 to 1996 was 615 gigalitres (2.17×1010 cu ft) per year, while average inflow 1997–2009, during Victoria's most severe recorded drought was 376 gigalitres (1.33×1010 cu ft) per year.
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