Mount Bold Reservoir is the largest

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

with a maximum capacity of over forty-six thousand megalitres. Costing A$1.1 million, the reservoir took six years to construct on the Onkaparinga River system between 1932 and 1938. The reservoir does not connect directly to the main reticulation system; rather, to maintain levels at Clarendon Weir, water is released only as required. Much of the water from Mount Bold will eventually end up at Happy Valley Reservoir and used to supply parts of the

Mount Lofty Ranges The Mount Lofty Ranges are a range of mountains in the Australian state of South Australia which for a small part of its length borders the east of Adelaide. The part of the range in the vicinity of Adelaide is called the Adelaide Hills and ...

and also

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. A major renovation was completed in 1964 when the level of the dam was raised 6.4 metres to increase the reservoir's capacity by approximately 17,000 megalitres. Although originally supplying its own electricity through a small

hydro-electricity Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined an ...

plant, this was discontinued in 1961. However, Mount Bold is now considered a possible site for a future commercial

mini-hydro Small hydro is the development of hydroelectric power on a scale suitable for local community and industry, or to contribute to distributed generation in a regional electricity grid. Exact definitions vary, but a "small hydro" project is less t ...

generator. In early June 2007, the

South Australian Government The Government of South Australia, also referred to as the South Australian Government, SA Government or more formally, His Majesty’s Government, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of South Australia. It is modelled o ...

began a scoping study into expanding the reservoir's capacity fivefold to 240 gigalitres at an estimated cost of A$850 million."SA plan to boost water storage capacity"

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, 5 June 2007. Retrieved on 2007-06-05. The plan was criticised by the

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as not providing any new water, and by ecologist David Paton as threatening surrounding wildlife. On 26 September 2010, Mount Bold Reservoir was opened for the first time since 2005 after receiving large amounts of rainfall in the week leading up to the date. The resulting water flushed out the Onkaparinga Catchment, causing several flooded roads but removing debris which had been building up for many years.

2007 fire

A bushfire ravaged the Mount Bold Valley area, which includes the properties between Kangarilla and Echunga, during the second week of January 2007. The fire destroyed two houses, gutted over ten sheds and killed livestock and horses. Two people were injured and fencing was damaged. The fire started at dusk on 10 January and burnt ferociously into the night with conditions worsening. On the next day, the fire headed towards Echunga but was contained by CFS crews."Fire ravages Kangarilla"
The Advertiser Retrieved on 2007-01-14.

References

SA Water: Water Storage (Reservoirs)
{{reservoirs in South Australia Dams completed in 1938 Arch dams Dams in South Australia Reservoirs in South Australia

2007 fire

See also

References