Ben Chifley Dam, or Chifley Dam, is a
rock and earth-fill 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 ...
across the
Campbells River
Campbells River, a perennial stream that is part of the Upper Macquarie catchment within the Murray–Darling basin, is located in the central–western region of New South Wales, Australia.
The river rises on the western slopes of the Great ...
in the
central west region of
New South Wales
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, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
,
Australia. The main purpose of the dam is to
supply
Supply may refer to:
*The amount of a resource that is available
**Supply (economics), the amount of a product which is available to customers
**Materiel, the goods and equipment for a military unit to fulfill its mission
*Supply, as in confidenc ...
potable water to the city of
Bathurst.
The dam is named in honour of
Ben Chifley
Joseph Benedict Chifley (; 22 September 1885 – 13 June 1951) was an Australian politician who served as the 16th prime minister of Australia from 1945 to 1949. He held office as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1945, follow ...
, a former
Prime Minister of Australia, Member for
Macquarie and resident of Bathurst.
Location and features
The dam is located upstream of Bathurst. Water is released into the Campbells River which flows into the
Macquarie River
The Macquarie River - Wambuul is part of the Macquarie– 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 highlands of New South Wales near the ...
before being captured at the water treatment facility at
Gorman's Hill, a suburb of Bathurst.
The dam wall is high and long and holds back of water when at full capacity. The surface area of the reservoir is and the catchment area is .
The long uncontrolled side-channel concrete spillway and six plug auxiliary fuse plug spillway
has a discharge capacity of .
With an average daily inflow of around per day, as at April 2013, filtered water consumption averaged , with a further of treated water returned to the Macquarie River.
History
Construction of Ben Chifley Dam started in 1948 and was completed eight years later. It was officially opened by 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 Parliamentary System, with a Parliament of New South Wales acting as the legislatu ...
,
Joseph Cahill
John Joseph Cahill (21 January 189122 October 1959), also known as Joe Cahill or J. J. Cahill, was a long-serving New South Wales politician, railway worker, trade unionist and Labor Party Premier of New South Wales from 1952 to his death in 1 ...
on 10 November 1956.
The dam then succeeded
Winburndale Dam as the potable-water supply for Bathurst. Winburndale Dam had been built in 1934 with an expected life of 20 years. Since completion of Ben Chifley Dam, Winburndale has been used to supply raw water for park watering and industrial use.
Plans to upgrade the Ben Chifley Dam commenced in 1989 after it was realised it did not meet the New South Wales Dam Safety Committee's safety recommendations and could fail in the event of a severe flood. A flood in August 1998, the worst recorded in 175 years, caused water to run over the spillway at a depth of , just below the level at which the wall was expected to fail. An evacuation plan was implemented downstream.
AG.EMADDB.Public.Website
Construction to upgrade the dam started in 1999. The top of the wall was raised by and the spillway was extended by , increasing the dam's capacity from to .
Gallery
BenChifleyDamSpillway.jpg, Water flowing over the upgraded spillway
BenChifleyDamStorage.jpg, The reservoir impounded by Ben Chifley Dam at full capacity
See also
* List of dams and reservoirs in New South Wales
* Winburndale Dam
References
External links
*
{{WaterNSW , state=autocollapse
Bathurst, New South Wales
Embankment dams
Dams completed in 1956
Central West (New South Wales)
Dams in New South Wales