Background The Gardens is serviced by electricity, gas and water supplies from the local distribution systems. Three major supply lines service the site. Two overhead power lines service the northern area. The southern area is serviced by an underground supply service, which is partly reticulated through the site by overhead lines. A further supply line services the Franklin Building in the southern part of the Gardens.
Gas is supplied to both northern and southern areas and is separately metered for each area.
Water supply is vital to the management of Gardens collections and it is all currently supplied from the ACT water supply. An extensive irrigation system, controlled by a number of isolated electronic irrigation controllers, covers the site to support the Gardens' extensive plant collections. This accounts for around 98 per cent of Gardens water use. The Gardens has investigated the potential for using water from alternative sources such as Lake Burley Griffin, and groundwater from bores. To date they have not been considered feasible or suitable for horticultural use.