The Corin Dam is an earth and rockfill

embankment Embankment may refer to: Geology and geography * A levee, an artificial bank raised above the immediately surrounding land to redirect or prevent flooding by a river, lake or sea * Embankment (earthworks), a raised bank to carry a road, railwa ...

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 ...

with an uncontrolled side channel spillway across the

Cotter River The Cotter River, a perennial river of the Murrumbidgee catchment within the Murray–Darling basin, is located in the Australian Capital Territory, Australia. The Cotter River, together with the Queanbeyan River, is one of two rivers that pr ...

, located within

Namadgi National Park Namadgi National Park is a protected area in the south-west of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), bordering Kosciuszko National Park in New South Wales. It lies approximately southwest of Canberra, and occupies approximately 46 percent of ...

in the

Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (commonly abbreviated as ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) until 1938, is a landlocked federal territory of Australia containing the national capital Canberra and some surrounding townships. ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. The impounded

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 ...

is called the Corin Reservoir which is a

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 ...

source of potable water for the city of

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

and its environs. It is named after

William Corin William Corin (13 October 1867- 2 March 1929) was an English-born electrical engineer, who undertook some of the early design of the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electricity Scheme in Australia. He was born in Kent, England and was educated at King's ...

(1867–1929), a pioneer in hydroelectric development in Australia.

Location and features

Constructed by Thiess Bros Pty Limited working from designs prepared by the Commonwealth Department of Works, the Corin Dam was completed and opened in 1968. The earthen dam wall built on a rock foundation is high and long with a volume of . The wall impounds of water held within the Corin Reservoir, forming a surface area of approximately drawn from a

catchment area In human geography, a catchment area is the area from which a location, such as a city, service or institution, attracts a population that uses its services and economic opportunities. Catchment areas may be defined based on from where people are ...

of . The uncontrolled side channel spillway is capable of discharging from the reservoir, with a high water level approximately

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''. The comb ...

. Water from the Corin, together with the Bendora (downstream) are pumped to the suburbs of Canberra via the

Bendora Gravity Main The Bendora Gravity Main is a water main located in the Australian Capital Territory, Australia. Water in the water main travels from the Bendora Dam via gravity to the treatment plant on Mount Stromlo, adjacent to the Cotter Dam pumping statio ...

References

External links

{{Rivers of the Australian Capital Territory Dams completed in 1961 Dams in the Australian Capital Territory Embankment dams Rock-filled dams Murray-Darling basin

Location and features

See also

References

External links