Across more than a century, Doug Stirling has lived the ebbs and flows of the unique challenge in supplying water to Lorne.

He recalls an ill-placed weir on the St George River, which had created debris and a horrible gas at the source and a “very smelly, black muck” in people’s taps.

This mid-20th century event drove visitors from the boarding houses and made him glad his home on Charles Street was on the Erskine River supply.

“I was never subject to that bad water, but it upset the tourists,” he said.

“I think they would have lost a lot of trade, because they didn’t want to come back.”

Born in 1922 – the same year the Great Ocean Road opened to Lorne – Doug is well versed in the post-colonial water systems that have serviced the town.

“The very first water supply came from the St George River, from a little weir they put on top of Phantom Falls,” he said.

“That gave them pressure to push it right up to the holding basin at the top of William St.

“As the town was growing, they envisaged they’d need more water than that, so they put in another supply from the Erskine River, just below Splitter Falls.”

Having the right infrastructure and systems to deal with the steep coastal terrain surrounding Lorne has always been a complex task.

“It was ‘learn as you go’ progress,” Doug said, describing pumps being blown out of the ground and other setbacks.

But the local legend is crystal clear that continued progress has yielded outstanding results.

“The present quality of the water in Lorne is excellent. It’s unpolluted, it comes from well up the stream.

“It’s excellent to drink, I drink it every day. You wouldn’t get a better water supply anywhere.”

Lorne’s drinking water is now sourced exclusively from the Allen Reservoir on the St George River.

While storage levels are healthy, Lorne is vulnerable to a changing climate that brings less rainfall.

Doug’s recollections provide a pertinent reminder about what has already changed.

“In those days, we had much more rain in Lorne. We had 48 inches (120cm) a year when I was a kid.”

Securing Lorne’s water security is the focus of Barwon Water’s Lorne: Water, Your Say program.

Barwon Water is drawing on local knowledge and passion to inform the project, through a Community Working Group.

Since establishing last year, the group has teamed with Barwon Water to prepare draft values and principles that will guide considerations for Lorne’s long-term water challenges.

You can provide your views, and find out more information about the project, via www.yoursay.barwonwater.vic.gov.au/lorne-hub