Burrendong Dam is a rock-fill embankment major gated

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, aqua ...

with a clay core across the

Macquarie River The Macquarie River or Wambuul is part of the Macquarie–Barwon River (New South Wales), Barwon catchment within the Murray–Darling basin, is one of the main inland rivers in New South Wales, Australia. The river rises in the central highl ...

upstream of

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

in the central west region of

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. The dam's purpose includes flood mitigation,

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering of plants) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has bee ...

water supply Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavors or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes. Public water supply systems are crucial to properly functioning societies. Th ...

and hydro-electric power generation. The dam impounds Lake Burrendong and is filled by the waters from the Macquarie, and Cudgegong rivers as well as Meroo Creek.

History

The idea of building the dam arose in 1909. However, it was not until 1946 until legislation was passed to construct the dam. Construction commenced in 1950. The town of

Mumbil Mumbil is a town in the east of central New South Wales, Australia. The town is within Dubbo Regional Council, part of the Orana Region, north west of the state capital, Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of A ...

expanded to accommodate the workers building the dam. The dam was completed in April 1965 and water began to flow into it for the first time. It was officially opened on 18 August 1967 by

Robert Askin Sir Robert William Askin, GCMG (4 April 1907 – 9 September 1981), was an Australian politician and the 32nd premier of New South Wales from 1965 to 1975, the first representing the Liberal Party. He was born in 1907 as Robin William Askin, b ...

, the

Premier of New South Wales The premier of New South Wales is the head of government in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The Government of New South Wales follows the Westminster system, Westminster Parliamentary System, with a Parliament of New South Wales actin ...

. The date was chosen because it was the

sesquicentenary An anniversary is the date on which an event took place or an institution was founded. Most countries celebrate national anniversaries, typically called national days. These could be the date of independence of the nation or the adoption o ...

of the town of Wellington. In September 1969 the dam was nearly full for the first time. The village of Burrendong, once a gold-mining area, was flooded by the construction of the dam.

Location and features

The Burrendong Dam is a major dam on the Macquarie River within the Macquarie Valley, approximately southeast of Wellington. The dam was built by the New South Wales Water Conservation & Irrigation Commission for the purposes of providing flood mitigation, irrigation, and water supply. The dam wall height is and is long. The water depth is and at 100% capacity the water level is AHD. The surface area of the dam is and the catchment area of the dam is . At 100%, Burrendong Dam has a capacity of . Additionally, the dam has a further flood mitigation capacity of . The spillway on the dam is a gated concrete

chute Chute or Chutes, may refer to: * Chute (gravity), a channel down which falling materials are guided * Chute (landform), a steep-sided passage through which water flows rapidly * Escape chute, an emergency exit utilized where conventional fire esca ...

with a release capacity of . Burrendong Dam has three times been recorded at a critically low level of 1.5% in drought. Contrastingly, however, Burrendong has mitigated potentially devastating floods downstream by using its flood capacity and releasing water in accordance with downstream tributary flows, safely reaching 160% of capacity in 1990 and 152.8% in 2010. In January 2020, the lake was again reported to be at 1.6% level. The A$32 million first phase of a major upgrade began in 2010 and is expected to be completed during 2015. This project will bring the dam up to modern safety standards including the raising of the main dam wall and saddle dam by as well as modifications to the existing spillway, complemented by construction of an auxiliary spillway and fuse plug.

Power generation

A hydro-electric

power station A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the electricity generation, generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electr ...

generates up to of

electricity Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwel ...

from the flow of the water leaving Burrendong Dam. The average output is per annum. The station was completed in August 1996 and was officially opened on 9 February 1999 by the

Bob Carr Robert John Carr (born 28 September 1947) is an Australian retired politician and journalist who served as the 39th Premier of New South Wales from 1995 to 2005, as the leader of the New South Wales Labor Party, New South Wales branch of the A ...

. At the time, the facility was operated by Power Facilities Pty Limited; and is now managed by

AGL Energy AGL Energy Ltd is an Australian listed public company involved in both the generation and retailing of electricity and gas for residential and commercial use. It is one of the "big three" retailers in the National Electricity Market. AGL is ...

. An 800 megawatt, 15 hour (11,900 MWh)

pumped-storage hydroelectricity Pumped-storage hydroelectricity (PSH), or pumped hydroelectric energy storage (PHES), is a type of hydroelectric energy storage used by electric power systems for load balancing (electrical power), load balancing. A PSH system stores energy i ...

project near the lake (but not using the lake) won a state tender in early 2025. Two new reservoirs are to be built, with a height difference of 350 meters.

References

External links

* * *
Central West Catchment Management Authority
website {{WaterNSW , state=autocollapse Dams completed in 1967 Central West (New South Wales) Hydroelectric power stations in New South Wales Dams in the Murray River basin Dams in New South Wales

History

Location and features

Power generation

See also

References

External links