Check the conditions of access before you visit.

Lookout

You can view the reservoir with access via a public road. Walking across the dam wall, you can view a historic swing bridge downstream of the dam wall, and take in the scale of the state's largest reservoir.

Dogs are not welcome at reservoir reserves as they can carry harmful organisms that can easily contaminate the water and present a risk to the safety of the drinking water. Dogs also pose a threat to local native birds and wildlife. Assistance animals are accepted.

Click map below for a print-friendly version.

Capacity: 46.4 gigalitres (one gigalitre is one billion litres), that’s enough to fill the Adelaide Oval with water more than 93 times

Constructed: 1932-1938

The dam at Mount Bold was built to increase the water supply for the Adelaide metropolitan area as it grew in the years following the end of World War One. Millbrook Reservoir had been completed in 1918 and just 13 years later its supplies were no longer sufficient to support Adelaide’s growing population.

When it was finished in 1937, Mount Bold was South Australia’s first major reservoir built on-stream rather than diverting water into it from other sources.

Little known fact about Mount Bold Reservoir

Between 1938 and 1961, Mount Bold also supplied its own electricity through a small hydro-electric plant.

Mount Bold Reservoir is one of 16 across the state that help supply water to more than 1.7 million South Australians.

Water in the reservoir is released as required to maintain an adequate level at the Clarendon Weir and, from there, water is diverted to Happy Valley where it is treated and supplied to homes and businesses across metropolitan Adelaide.

Treating drinking water before it’s supplied for people to enjoy straight from the tap is important to make sure it is clean and safe to drink. You can learn how SA Water treats water and maintains the quality its customers value and rely upon.