Lostock Dam is a minor rockfill and clay core embankment

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 concrete lined, flip bucket spillway across the Paterson River upstream of the village of

East Gresford East Gresford is a village in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia in Dungog Shire. The village is located north of Sydney and the nearest major centres are Singleton, New South Wales, Singleton some southwest and Maitland to the so ...

in the

Hunter Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products ( fur/ hide, bone/tusks, ...

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 Flood management or flood control are methods used to reduce or prevent the detrimental effects of flood waters. Flooding can be caused by a mix of both natural processes, such as extreme weather upstream, and human changes to waterbodies and ru ...

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 conservation.

Mini The Mini is a very small two-door, four-seat car, produced for four decades over a single generation, with many names and variants, by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) and its successors British Leyland and the Rover Group, and finally ...

hydro-power facilities were retrofitted in 2010. The impounded

reservoir A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to water storage, store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation. Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of wa ...

is also called Lostock Dam.

Location and features

Commenced in 1969 and completed in 1971, the Lostock Dam is a minor dam on the Paterson River, a tributary of the

Hunter River Hunter River may refer to: *Hunter River (New South Wales), Australia *Hunter River (Western Australia) *Hunter River, New Zealand *Hunter River (Prince Edward Island), Canada **Hunter River, Prince Edward Island, community on Hunter River, Canada ...

, and is located approximately from both Maitland and

Singleton Singleton may refer to: Sciences, technology Mathematics * Singleton (mathematics), a set with exactly one element * Singleton field, used in conformal field theory Computing * Singleton pattern, a design pattern that allows only one instance ...

, and also north-west of

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

, on the upper reaches of the river. The dam was built by Dumez Australia under contract to the New South Wales Water Department of Land and Water Conservation following the drought of 1964–66. At that time there was a need for a water conservation storage in the Paterson Valley to stabilise and further develop rural productivity. The dam wall height is and is long. The maximum water depth is and at 100% capacity the dam wall holds back of water at AHD. The surface area of the reservoir is and the catchment area is . The ungated concrete lined, flip bucket chute spillway is capable of discharging . The name of the dam originates from the village of the same name, located approximately downstream from the dam wall.

Power generation

A mini 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 Lostock Dam. Constructed by Heidemann Hydro Australia, the facility is managed by

Delta Electricity Delta Electricity is an electricity generation company in Australia. The company was formed by the Government of New South Wales in 1996 as part of its reform of the electricity sector in the State, which saw the breakup of the Electricity Comm ...

References

External links

*
Lostock Dam Fishing Information & Map

{{WaterNSW , state=autocollapse Dams completed in 1971 Energy infrastructure completed in 2010 Dungog Shire Embankment dams Dams in New South Wales Hunter Region Hydroelectric power stations in New South Wales

Location and features

Power generation

See also

References

External links