Dams In New Zealand
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Dams In New Zealand
Many of the largest dams and reservoirs in New Zealand have been developed principally to produce hydroelectricity. Other uses include irrigation and municipal water supply. Hydro-electric dams The main river systems comprising a series of dams and powerhouses are situated on the following rivers: :The Waikato River :The Waitaki River :The Clutha River Other schemes are standalone developments associated with specific sites. Tongariro Power Scheme The Tongariro Power Scheme (1,400 GWh) diverts water from the south side of Mount Ruapehu and the west and north sides of Tongariro into Lake Taupō, and thus eventually into the Waikato River. *Rangipo (cavern) (120 MW) *Tokaanu (240 MW) *Lake Moawhango, Moawhango Dam The Waikato The hydro stations, starting from Lake Taupō, are (capacity in MW and nominal annual energy output in GWh): *Aratiatia Power Station, Aratiatia (84 MW) (331 GWh) *Ohakuri Power Station, Ohakuri (112 MW) (400 GWh) *Atiamuri Power Station, Atiamuri (84 MW ...
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Waipapa Power Station
Waipapa Power Station is a hydroelectric power station on the Waikato River, in the North Island of New Zealand. It is the sixth hydroelectric power station on the Waikato River. It is the smallest power station on the Waikato River. Waipapa is operated by the publicly listed company Mercury Energy Mercury NZ Limited is a New Zealand electricity generation and multi-product utility retailer of electricity, gas, broadband and mobile telephone services. All the company's electricity generation is renewable. Mercury has a pre-paid electrici ..., an electricity generation and retail company. History Although this site was initially considered in 1943, the decision to proceed with hydro development was not made until 1953. Construction began in 1955 and the first electricity was generated in April 1961. In 2001, the turbines were refurbished to improve operational efficiency. References Further reading * * External links * {{Waikato River dams Energy infrastructure c ...
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Pukaki Canal
Pukaki was an 18th-century chief of the Arawa iwi of New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla .... His portrait appears on the New Zealand 20 cent coin minted from 1990 to 2008. The name has been used for several New Zealand items: *Pukaki, one of the volcanic cones of the Auckland volcanic field * Lake Pukaki, a lake in Canterbury, New Zealand * Pukaki River, a river in Canterbury *'' HMNZS Pukaki'', the name used by three ships of the Royal New Zealand Navy {{disambiguation ...
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Tekapo Canal
* Tekapo River, flows occasionally through the Mackenzie Basin, Canterbury, in New Zealand's South Island, * Lake Tekapo (town), small town (township) located at the southern end of the lake of the same name in the inland South Island of New Zealand. * Lake Tekapo Lake Tekapo () is the second-largest of three roughly parallel lakes running north–south along the northern edge of the Mackenzie Basin in the South Island of New Zealand (the others are Lake Pukaki and Lake Ōhau). It covers an area of and ..., the second-largest of three roughly parallel lakes running north–south along the northern edge of the Mackenzie Basin in the South Island of New Zealand * Lake Tekapo Airport, Non-Certificated Airport west of Lake Tekapo township in the Mackenzie District of the South Island in New Zealand * Tekapo Ridge, crescent-shaped chain of low peaks {{disambiguation ...
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Power Canal
A power canal is a canal used for hydraulic power generation, rather than for transport of watercraft. The power canal was a major factor in the Industrial Revolution in New England in the 19th century. Most early power canals were mill races used mechanically to transfer power directly from falling water to machinery in mill buildings. Later, the hydraulic power generated electricity locally for the same mill factories. These power canals were often filled in as electricity (transported by power lines) replaced the need for local water power, and road transport needs or city expansion needs reclaimed the land. Some hydraulic power canals were transformed into local electric generators, but most were closed. Remains of power canals can be seen in old mill town A mill town, also known as factory town or mill village, is typically a settlement that developed around one or more List of types of mill#Manufacturing facilities, mills or factories, often cotton mills or factories p ...
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Lake Tekapo
Lake Tekapo () is the second-largest of three roughly parallel lakes running north–south along the northern edge of the Mackenzie Basin in the South Island of New Zealand (the others are Lake Pukaki and Lake Ōhau). It covers an area of and is at an altitude of above sea level. In Māori culture "Tekapo" is a misspelling of , the name of the lake in the Māori language. means "to leave in haste at night". In 2021, the Mackenzie District Council announced that it will start using the dual names of Tekapo and Takapō when referring to Lake Tekapo. According to Ngāi Tahu mythology, Lake Tekapo being one of the lakes dug by the Waitaha (South Island iwi), Waitaha explorer Rākaihautū using his Polynesian digging stick, which was called Tūwhakaroria. After arriving in the Uruao waka (canoe), waka at Nelson, Rākaihautū divided his people into two groups. Rākaihautū led his group down the middle of the island, digging the South Island freshwater lakes. His son, Rakih ...
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Lake Pukaki
Lake Pukaki () is the largest of three roughly parallel alpine lakes running north–south along the northern edge of the Mackenzie Basin on New Zealand's South Island. The others are Lakes Tekapo and Ōhau. All three lakes were formed when the terminal moraines of receding glaciers blocked their respective valleys, forming moraine-dammed lakes. The Alps2Ocean mountain bike trail follows the edge of Lake Pukaki for part of its length. Geography The glacial feed to the lakes gives them a distinctive blue colour, created by glacial flour, the extremely finely ground rock particles from the glaciers. Lake Pukaki covers an area of , and the surface elevation of the lake normally ranges from above sea level. The lake is fed at its northern end by the braided Tasman River, which has its source in the Tasman and Hooker Glaciers, close to Aoraki / Mount Cook. To the west of Lake Pukaki lies the Ben Ohau mountain range with Ben Dhu () and Betty Hill () closest to the lake. On the ...
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Lake Benmore
Lake Benmore is New Zealand's largest artificial lake. Located in the South Island of New Zealand and part of the Waitaki River, it was created in the 1960s by construction of Benmore Dam. Characteristics The lake has an area of about 75 km² and a maximum depth of 90 meters. The lake consists of two arms: the Haldon arm, fed mainly by the Tekapo, Pukaki and Twizel rivers, and the Ōhau Canal; and the Ahuriri Arm, fed mainly by the Ahuriri River. Immediately downstream is Lake Aviemore. As of 2023, Land Air Water Aotearoa described the water quality as "very good", with a trophic level index of 1.8. It also described the quality of ecological conditions as "high", with a lake submerged plant indicators score of 72.0%. The lake is split between the Mackenzie, Waimate, and Waitaki districts, within the southern portion of the Canterbury Region. Construction The lake is the reservoir of Benmore Dam, New Zealand's largest earth dam, which was created as part of ...
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Benmore Dam
Benmore Dam is the largest dam within the Waitaki power scheme, located in the Canterbury Region of New Zealand's South Island. There are eight other power stations in the Waitaki Power Scheme. The dam is the largest earth-fill (zoned embankment dam) water-retaining structure in New Zealand. Its core is low permeability clay material, supported by two massive shoulders of river gravel. Lake Benmore has a volume of 1.25 billion cubic metres, about 1.5 times as much water as Wellington Harbour. The dam's spillway can cope with over 6,000 cubic metres of water per second, about 20 times the mean river flow. Benmore Power Station With a generating capacity of , Benmore Power Station is the second largest hydro station in New Zealand behind Manapouri, and the largest dam in the country. Construction of the dam and hydroelectric station began in 1958 at a cost of $62 million. It was commissioned in 1965, and was officially opened by Prime Minister Sir Keith Holy ...
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Lake Aviemore
Lake Aviemore or Mahi Tikumu is a man-made lake in New Zealand's South Island, part of the Waitaki hydroelectric scheme. Immediately upstream is Lake Benmore and downstream Lake Waitaki. Aviemore lies on both sides of the border between the Waimate and Waitaki districts. It is part of the traditional boundary of the Canterbury and Otago regions, although, officially, the border has been moved southward to include the lake, as well as the entire northwestern portion of the Waitaki District in the Canterbury Region. The Otematata settlement situated on State Highway 83 is just west of the lake, and was built in 1958 as a base for the construction of the Aviemore and Benmore Dams. Closer to the lake the old village Wharekuri which encompasses Aviemore was populous in the 1860s. The Aviemore Dam, completed in 1968, is the newest of the three dams on the Waitaki river. It is made out of both earth and concrete. By continuing the sinuous course of the river after the lake, ...
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Aviemore Dam
The Aviemore Dam is a dam on the Waitaki River in New Zealand. The dam is a composite dam, with an embankment section, and a concrete section. Built in the 1960s (and completed in 1968) it impounds Lake Aviemore. Aviemore Dam is owned and operated by Meridian Energy, and its primary purpose is to power a hydroelectric power plant. It is a part of the Waitaki River Hydroelectric System, a scheme which supplies 30% of New Zealand's considerable amount of hydropower. Characteristics Composite Dam structure The founding conditions of the dam differ on either side of the Waitangi Fault, hence different dam construction types are used. On the northern side of the valley (Canterbury side), the dam is founded on greywacke rock, and consists of a -long concrete structure. On the southern side of the valley (Otago side), the dam is founded on tertiary sedimentary rock, an consists of a long zoned embankment (earth) dam. During the construction of the concrete section, low-heat cement ...
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Waitaki Dam
The Waitaki Dam is one of eight hydroelectricity, hydroelectric power stations which form the Reservoirs and dams in New Zealand, Waitaki hydroelectric scheme on the Waitaki River in the Canterbury Region of New Zealand. The dam was the first of three to be built on the Waitaki River and was constructed without earthmoving machinery; over half a million cubic metres of material was excavated, almost entirely by pick-and-shovel. The Waitaki Dam's construction was followed by the development of Aviemore Dam and Benmore Dam, and importantly, every dam built in New Zealand since the Waitaki has benefited from lessons learned during its construction. The Waitaki Dam is unique; its construction lead to the germination of one of the world's first social welfare systems. Built during the Great Depression, the Waitaki Dam attempted to soak up unemployment as part of the Government's ''Welfare in New Zealand#Unemployment Act 1930, make work'' scheme and saw the trial of medical welfare ...
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