Thomson River Dam, Embankment dam in Victoria, Australia

Thomson River Dam is an embankment dam built across the Thomson River to hold back water for regional supply. The structure creates a large body of water within Victoria that serves as a critical storage facility for the surrounding area.

The dam was built starting in the 1970s and completed in the early 1980s as a major water management project. This investment reflected Melbourne's growing needs for reliable water storage and supply.

The reservoir is named after the Thomson River, which was dammed near the former township of Beardmore. Melbourne Water manages the site, and the water is transferred through a tunnel at the northern end of the reservoir to the Upper Yarra and Silvan reservoirs before distribution. The reservoir holds about sixty per cent of Melbourne's total water storage capacity.

The dam lies about 130 km east of Melbourne in West Gippsland, near the former township of Beardmore and Baw Baw National Park. The wall is 166 m high and 590 m long, with a 36 m saddle dam beside it. Water is released through a 7.4 MW hydroelectric station at the base of the dam.

The dam connects to an underground tunnel system that moves water to other reservoirs across the region. This hidden infrastructure allows water to be transferred efficiently between different storage points.