But with the city expanding, and climate change already wreaking havoc, attention has turned to how to improve the system.

As Wendouree MP Juliana Addison put it, "I've never walked on water, but I've walked across Lake Wendouree - we never, ever want to see that happen again".

READ MORE: Remember when we had to put a bucket in the shower to save water in Ballarat?

A $4.45 million upgrade will help make sure the lake stays full, and green spaces like Victoria Park and the Wendouree West Recreation Reserve stay green.

The upgrade - in short, doubling the capacity for recycled water treatment and a new pipe to hook it up to the city - will "future proof" the city's supply, Ms Addison said.

"We know climate change is real and it's a huge challenge for us as a government, as well as a community, so anything we can do to save our precious water resources, to re-use our water resources, means that we're going to have more water to look after our city and keep it beautiful," she said.

The project is a partnership between Central Highlands Water, the City of Ballarat, and the state government's Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning.

Right now, water that goes down the drain in homes and industrial areas ends up at the water reclamation plant, where it's pumped into a collection of tanks filled with chemicals and other compounds to begin the treatment process.

The water is then pumped at very high pressure through long filters, which kills bacteria and removes almost all additives, before it's shot through a tank lit with ultraviolet lights to kill whatever's left.

From there, after it leaves holding tanks, the water's distributed along pipes under the freeway and Giot Drive to Mars Stadium and Dowling Street, where it's used to water school ovals, with the rest used to top up Lake Wendouree.

The upgrade will involve new pumps, another set of filters, and a new pipe along Gillies Street.

Central Highlands Water chair Angeleen Jenkins said smarter technology and practices will help save millions of litres of drinking water.

"Our growing regional community understands water is a precious and limited resource - we all have a responsibility to use water in a smart and sustainable way," she said.

"Things can change rapidly with climate change."

City of Ballarat mayor Daniel Moloney thanked the teams involved in planning - early work began in 2018, and the project isn't expected to be complete until 2024.

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"Why should we care? Why should we do these types of projects? Those of us who remember that drought period in the early 2000s know why we should care and why it's important to have a resilient city," he said.

"One of the number one things people are saying to us when we talk about growth in Ballarat is 'what about the water supply? How are you sustaining tens of thousands of new residents coming to Ballarat?' It's because of things like this, the resilience that's constantly being built into the network.

"We don't notice the work until things start to go bad, in times of drought, and I'm grateful we have clever planners, collaborators, and people who genuinely care about the supply of one of our most precious assets."

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