Hazelwood Pondage, Morwell

Swimming Hole Heaven in Victoria

This may have been the site of Australia’s “dirtiest” power station, but the carbon counters cannot deny that up until the power plant's closure in 2017, it was also the only large scale, public, outdoor warm water recreational venue in Victoria. Above: Steam rising from the pondage (Order this image)

The water in the pondage was kept at a very pleasant 22 degrees celcius all year round by circulating through the power station to cool the plant. That meant you could even swim here in mid-winter. Unfortunately, due to dam safety issues, the pondage has now been permanently closed to the public since April 2019.

After the plant was closed, for a short period of time, groundwater was still being pumped into the pondage from the base of the coal mine, which kept a narrow section of the lake warm. Unfortunately this section of warm water was inaccessible to swimmers. Prior to June 2018, you could still swim in the pondage, but without the warth, this brown and murky water was much less appealing than it once was.

Prior to shutting down the power plant in early 2017, the warm water made the pondage popular for a range of events including the World Masters Games, the Australian Open Water Swimming Championships and the Latrobe City Sauna Sail.

There is a caravan park at the south-west corner of the pondage, which has a poorly defined and shallow swimming area. Along the western edge of the pondage there are a number of boat and jet ski ramps which have deeper water for easier entry to the pondage without getting your feet muddy.

Here is a video that I took of a swim at Hazelwood Pondage on a chilly day in mid-winter, which is now destined for the annals of history. On that particular day, I was the only one silly enough to get into the water and was pleasantly surprised.

Before you head out, make sure to read the swimming safety information and check with the managing authority for any current change of conditions. The marker indicates the location of the area where I swam at the lake. If the map is not zoomed in locally, as can occur with some browsers, simply click or tap on "View Larger Map" below.
View Larger Map It's official: Hazelwood Power Station began shutting down in March 2017 and as of April 2019, the pondage is now permanently closed to the public.

Barramundi were stocked in Hazelwood Pondage in 2016 as part of a plan to encourage recreational fishing at the pondage. This decision was made before the announcement that the power plant would close. Barramundi are a tropical fish and only survive in warm water. Media reports in mid-2017 indicated that large numbers of fish perished when the weather turned cold in the winter of that year, but most survived by moving towards the channel where the warm groundwater is still being pumped into the lake. According to The Fish Vet's blog Barramundi start to get sick when water temperatures are in the mid-teens, and mortality has been observed in fish farms when the water temperature dropped to 11 degrees celsius. From local monitoring data, water temperatures in Victorian streams drop to below ten degrees on cold nights in winter, which is why you can't find barramundi elsewhere in Victoria.

Thanks to Lu from Churchill for alerting me to the temporary closure of the pondage in 2018. If you would like to leave a comment about this swimming hole, please fill in the comment box below. I'm particularly interested in your experiences if you swam here prior to the closure. I received a range of great questions leading up to the power plant closure, which I responded to and published, but have since removed given that closure has now occurred. All fields are required if you would like your comments published on this website.

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