The Snowy Mountains Scheme or Snowy scheme is a

hydroelectricity Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other Renewabl ...

and

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow Crop, crops, Landscape plant, landscape plants, and Lawn, lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,00 ...

complex in south-east

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 Scheme consists of sixteen major dams; nine power stations; two pumping stations; and of tunnels, pipelines and aqueducts that were constructed between 1949 and 1974. The Scheme was completed under the supervision of Chief Engineer, Sir William Hudson. It is the largest engineering project undertaken in Australia. The water of the

Snowy River The Snowy River is a major river in south-eastern Australia. It originates on the slopes of Mount Kosciuszko, Australia's highest mainland peak, draining the eastern slopes of the Snowy Mountains in New South Wales, before flowing through the ...

and some of its

tributaries A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage b ...

, much of which formerly flowed southeast onto the river flats of

East Gippsland East Gippsland is the eastern region of Gippsland, Victoria, Australia covering 31,740 square kilometres (14%) of Victoria. It has a population of 80,114. Australian Bureau of Statistics2006 Census Community Profile Series: East Gippsland (Sta ...

, and into

Bass Strait Bass Strait () is a strait separating the island state of Tasmania from the Australian mainland (more specifically the coast of Victoria, with the exception of the land border across Boundary Islet). The strait provides the most direct waterwa ...

of the

Tasman sea The Tasman Sea (Māori: ''Te Tai-o-Rēhua'', ) is a marginal sea of the South Pacific Ocean, situated between Australia and New Zealand. It measures about across and about from north to south. The sea was named after the Dutch explorer Abe ...

, is captured at high elevations and diverted inland to the

Murray Murray may refer to: Businesses * Murray (bicycle company), an American manufacturer of low-cost bicycles * Murrays, an Australian bus company * Murray International Trust, a Scottish investment trust * D. & W. Murray Limited, an Australian who ...

and

Murrumbidgee River The Murrumbidgee River () is a major tributary of the Murray River within the Murray–Darling basin and the second longest river in Australia. It flows through the Australian state of New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, desce ...

s irrigation areas. The Scheme includes two major tunnel systems constructed through the

continental divide A continental divide is a drainage divide on a continent such that the drainage basin on one side of the divide feeds into one ocean or sea, and the basin on the other side either feeds into a different ocean or sea, or else is endorheic, not ...

of the

Snowy Mountains The Snowy Mountains, known informally as "The Snowies", is an IBRA subregion in southern New South Wales, Australia, and is the tallest mountain range in mainland Australia, being part of the continent's Great Dividing Range cordillera system ...

, known in Australia as the

Great Dividing Range The Great Dividing Range, also known as the East Australian Cordillera or the Eastern Highlands, is a cordillera system in eastern Australia consisting of an expansive collection of mountain ranges, plateaus and rolling hills, that runs rough ...

. The water falls and travels through large hydro-electric power stations which generate peak-load power for 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. ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , 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 ...

and

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

. The Scheme also provides some security of water flows to the Murray-Darling basin, providing approximately 2,100 gigalitres (7.4×10¹⁰ cu ft) of water a year to the basin for use in Australia's irrigated agriculture industry. In 2016, the Snowy Mountains Scheme was added to the

Australian National Heritage List The Australian National Heritage List or National Heritage List (NHL) is a heritage register, a list of national heritage places deemed to be of outstanding heritage significance to Australia, established in 2003. The list includes natural and ...

History

Official launch of the Snowy Mountains Hydro project at Adaminaby in 1949

Background

Since the 1800s, both the Murray and Murrumbidgee rivers have been subject to development and control to meet

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. Thes ...

and irrigation needs. By contrast, the Snowy River, that rises in the

Australian Alps The Australian Alps is a mountain range in southeast Australia. It comprises an interim Australian bioregion,

and flows through mountainous and practically uninhabited country until

debouch In hydrology, a debouch (or debouche) is a place where runoff from a small, confined space discharges into a larger, broader body of water. The word is derived from the French verb ''déboucher'' (), which means "to unblock, to clear". The term ...

ing onto the river flats of East Gippsland, had never been controlled in any way, neither for the production of power nor for irrigation. A great proportion of its waters flowed eastwards into the South Pacific Ocean (the Tasman Sea). The Snowy River has the highest headwater source of any in Australia and draws away a large proportion of the waters from the south-eastern New South Wales snowfields. The construction of the Snowy Mountains Scheme was seen as a means of supplementing the flow of the great inland rivers, a means for developing hydro-electric power, and also a way to increase agricultural production in the Murray and Murrumbidgee valleys. Following

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the

Government of New South Wales The Government of New South Wales, also known as the NSW Government, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of New South Wales. It is currently held by a coalition of the Liberal Party and the National Party. The Governmen ...

proposed that the flow of the Snowy River be diverted into the Murrumbidgee River for irrigation and agricultural purposes. There was little emphasis placed on the generation of power. A counter proposal by the

Government of Victoria The Victoria State Government, also referred to as just the Victorian Government, is the state-level authority for Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. Like all state governments, it is formed by three independent branches: the executive ...

involved a greater generation of power, and involved diversion of the Snowy River to the Murray River. Additionally, the

Government of South Australia The Government of South Australia, also referred to as the South Australian Government, SA Government or more formally, His Majesty’s Government, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of South Australia. It is modelled o ...

was concerned that downstream flows on the Murray River would be severely jeopardised. The

Commonwealth Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Government ...

, looking at the national implications of the two proposals, initiated a meeting to discuss the use of the waters of the Snowy River, and a Committee was set up in 1946 to examine the question on the broadest possible basis. This Committee, in a report submitted in November 1948, suggested consideration of a far greater scheme than any previously put forward. It involved not only the simple question of use of the waters of the Snowy River, but consideration of the possible diversion of a number of rivers in the area, tributaries, not only of the Snowy, but of the Murray and Murrumbidgee. The recommendations of the Committee were generally agreed to by a conference of Ministers representing the Commonwealth, New South Wales, and Victoria, and it was also agreed that the Committee should continue its investigations. However, limitations in the

Australian Constitution The Constitution of Australia (or Australian Constitution) is a constitutional document that is supreme law in Australia. It establishes Australia as a federation under a constitutional monarchy and outlines the structure and powers of the ...

meant that the Commonwealth Government was limited in the powers it could exercise, without the agreement of the States. Subsequently, the Commonwealth Government introduced legislation into the

Federal Parliament The Parliament of Australia (officially the Federal Parliament, also called the Commonwealth Parliament) is the legislative branch of the government of Australia. It consists of three elements: the monarch (represented by the governor-gen ...

under its defence power; and enacted the that enabled the formation of the

Snowy Mountains Hydroelectric Authority Snowy Hydro Limited is an electricity generation and retailing company in Australia that owns, manages, and maintains the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Scheme which consists of nine hydro-electric power stations and sixteen large dams connecte ...

. Ten years later, the relevant States and Territories introduced their own corresponding legislation and in January 1959 the Snowy Mountains Agreement was reached between the Commonwealth and the States. The legislation created the Snowy Mountains Hydroelectric Authority that was given responsibility for the final evaluation, design and construction of the Snowy Mountains Scheme. The final agreed plan was to divert the waters of the Snowy Mountains region to provide increased electricity generating capacity and to provide irrigation water for the dry west. It was "greeted with enthusiasm by the people of Australia" and was seen to be "a milestone towards full national development". The chief engineer,

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

-born William Hudson (knighted 1955), was chosen to head the scheme as Chairman of the Snowy Mountains Hydroelectric Authority, and was instructed to seek workers from overseas. Hudson's employment of workers from 32 (mostly European) countries, many of whom had been at war with each other only a few years earlier, had a significant effect on the cultural mix of Australia.

Construction

Towards Kosciuszko from Kangaroo Ridge in winter

Construction of the Snowy Scheme was managed by the Snowy Mountains Hydroelectric Authority. It officially began on 17 October 1949 and took 25 years, being officially completed in 1974. An agreement between the

United States Bureau of Reclamation The Bureau of Reclamation, and formerly the United States Reclamation Service, is a federal agency under the U.S. Department of the Interior, which oversees water resource management, specifically as it applies to the oversight and opera ...

and Snowy Mountains Hydro to provide technical assistance and training of engineers was agreed between the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and Australia in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

on 16 November 1951. A loan for $100 Million was obtained from the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...

in 1962. Tunneling records were set in the construction of the Scheme and it was completed on time and on budget in 1974, at a cost of 820 million; a dollar value equivalent in 1999 and 2004 to A$6

billion Billion is a word for a large number, and it has two distinct definitions: *1,000,000,000, i.e. one thousand million, or (ten to the ninth power), as defined on the short scale. This is its only current meaning in English. * 1,000,000,000,000, i. ...

. Around two thirds of the workforce employed in the construction of the scheme were immigrant workers, originating from over thirty countries. The official death toll of workers on the Scheme stands at 121 people. Some of roads and tracks were constructed, seven townships and over 100 camps were built to enable construction of the 16 major dams, seven hydroelectric power stations, two pumping stations, of tunnel and of pipelines and aqueducts. Just 2% of the construction work is visible from above ground. Two of the towns constructed for the scheme are now permanent;

Cabramurra Cabramurra was the third-highest permanently inhabited town on the Australian continent, situated at in the western Snowy Mountains (or South West Slopes) of the Great Dividing Range, in the state of New South Wales. It is lower than Dinner ...

, the highest town in Australia; and

Khancoban Khancoban () is a small town in Snowy Valleys Council, New South Wales, Australia. The town is located from the state capital, Sydney and from the state border with Victoria, in the foothills of the Snowy Mountains, near the upper reaches of t ...

Cooma Cooma is a town in the south of New South Wales, Australia. It is located south of the national capital, Canberra, via the Monaro Highway. It is also on the Snowy Mountains Highway, connecting Bega with the Riverina. At the , Cooma had a ...

flourished during construction of the Scheme and remains the headquarters of the operating company of the Scheme. Townships at

Adaminaby Adaminaby is a small town near the Snowy Mountains north-west of Cooma, New South Wales, Australia, in the Snowy Monaro Regional Council. The historic town, of 301 people at the , is a trout fishing centre and winter sports destination situate ...

Jindabyne Jindabyne () is a town in south-east New South Wales, Australia that overlooks Lake Jindabyne near the Snowy Mountains, in Snowy Monaro Regional Council. It is a popular holiday destination year round, especially in winter. This is due to its ...

and

Talbingo Talbingo is a small town in New South Wales, Australia at the edge of the Snowy Mountains on the Snowy Mountains Highway. The town is 410 metres above sea level. It is on the Tumut River, which has been inundated by Jounama Pondage. Talbingo re ...

were inundated by the flooded waters from

Lake Eucumbene Eucumbene Dam is a major gated earthfill embankment dam with an overflow ski-jump and bucket spillway with two vertical lift gates across the Eucumbene River in the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales, Australia. The dam's main purpose is for t ...

Lake Jindabyne Jindabyne Dam is a major ungated rockfill embankment dam across the Snowy River in the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales, Australia. The dam's main purpose is for the generation of hydro-power and is one of the sixteen major dams that comprise ...

and Jounama Reservoir. Improved vehicular access to the high country enabled ski-resort villages to be constructed at

Thredbo Thredbo is a village and ski resort in the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales, Australia, situated in a part of the Snowy Monaro Regional Council, and has been operated by Event Hospitality and Entertainment since 1987. It is approximately ...

and Guthega in the 1950s by former Snowy Scheme workers who realised the potential for expansion of the Australian ski industry. The Scheme is in an area of , almost entirely within the

Kosciuszko National Park The Kosciuszko National Park () is a national park and contains mainland Australia's highest peak, Mount Kosciuszko, for which it is named, and Cabramurra, the highest town in Australia. Its borders contain a mix of rugged mountains and wildern ...

. The design of the scheme was modelled on that of the

Tennessee Valley Authority The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is a federally owned electric utility corporation in the United States. TVA's service area covers all of Tennessee, portions of Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky, and small areas of Georgia, North Carolina ...

. Over 100,000 people from over 30 countries were employed during its construction, providing employment for many recently arrived immigrants, and was important in Australia's post-

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

economic and social development. Seventy percent of all the workers were migrants. During construction of the tunnels, a number of railways were employed to convey spoil from worksites and to deliver personnel, concrete and equipment throughout. The project used Australia's first transistorised computer; one of the first in the world. Called 'Snowcom', the computer was used from 1960 to 1967. At the completion of the project, the Australian Government maintained much of the diverse workforce and established the

Snowy Mountains Engineering Corporation SMEC Holdings Limited (formerly Snowy Mountains Engineering Corporation) is an Australian based-firm that provides consulting services on major infrastructure projects around the world. SMEC undertakes feasibility studies, design, tender and contra ...

(SMEC), which is now an international engineering consultancy company. The Scheme is the largest

renewable energy Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable resources that are naturally replenished on a human timescale. It includes sources such as sunlight, wind, the movement of water, and geothermal heat. Although most renewable energy ...

generator Generator may refer to: * Signal generator, electronic devices that generate repeating or non-repeating electronic signals * Electric generator, a device that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy. * Generator (circuit theory), an eleme ...

in mainland Australia and plays an important role in the operation of the

National Electricity Market The National Electricity Market (NEM) is an arrangement in Australia's electricity sector for the connection of the electricity transmission grids of the eastern and southern Australia states and territories to create a cross-state wholesale el ...

, generating approximately 67% of all renewable energy in the mainland National Electricity Market. The Snowy Scheme's primary function is as a water manager, however under the corporatised model must deliver dollar dividends to the three shareholder governments - the NSW, Commonwealth and Victorian Governments. The Scheme also has a significant role in providing security of water flows to the Murray-Darling Basin. The Scheme provides approximately of water a year to the Basin, providing additional water for an irrigated agriculture industry worth about A$3 bn per annum, representing more than 40% of the gross value of the nation's agricultural production. The Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Scheme, is one of the most complex integrated water and hydro-electric power schemes in the world and is listed as a "world-class civil engineering project" by the

American Society of Civil Engineers American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

. The scheme interlocks seven power stations and 16 major dams through of trans-mountain tunnels and of aqueducts. The history of the Snowy Scheme reveals its important role in building post World War II Australia. Sir William Hudson was appointed the first commissioner of the Snowy Mountains Hydroelectric Authority, serving between 1949 and 1967. The Commissioner's role was the overall management of the Scheme. He represented the Scheme at the highest levels of government, welcomed international scientists and engineers, encouraged scientific and engineering research, as well as attending many social and civic activities. Sir William's management style 'stressed cooperation between management and labour and scientific knowledge (facts) over opinion'. The Scheme was completed with the official opening of the Tumut 3 Power Station project by the

Governor-General of Australia The governor-general of Australia is the representative of the monarch, currently King Charles III, in Australia.Sir Paul Hasluck on 21 October 1972.

Safety

The Scheme used a number of innovative approaches to all sorts of things during its construction. For example all vehicles driven on all parts of the scheme were required to be fitted with seatbelts for driver and front seat passenger; and that these seatbelts were required to be used. On 16 April 1958, an elevator at a dam near Cabramurra fell about 400 feet when the cable broke, killing 4 Italian employees of a French construction firm.

Personal stories and memoirs of work on the Snowy Scheme

Various stories and memoirs have been written about work on the Snowy Mountains Scheme.

Siobhan McHugh Siobhán is a female given name of Irish origin. The most common anglicisations are Siobhan (identical to the Irish spelling but omitting the acute accent over the 'a'), Shevaun and Shivaun. A now uncommon spelling variant is Siubhán. It is de ...

's social history, ''The Snowy: The People Behind the Power'' is the most prominent, having been awarded the NSW Premier's Literary Award for Non-Fiction and being the source of an ABC radio documentary series (1987) and a Film Australia documentary, ''Snowy, A Dream of Growing Up'' (1989). Her book is based on about 90 oral histories with former Snowy workers and residents, with original recordings archived as a research collection at the State Library of New South Wales. An updated 70th anniversary edition of her book wa
published
by New South in 2019 and its content showcased by Richard Fidler in a
interview
with McHugh for his popular ABC podcast, Conversations. Most recently,

Snowy Hydro Snowy Hydro Limited is an electricity generation and retailing company in Australia that owns, manages, and maintains the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Scheme which consists of nine hydro-electric power stations and sixteen large dams connecte ...

, Woden Community Service, Gen S Stories and PhotoAccess partnered for a Digital Storytelling project to present a diverse collection of stories told from the point of view of seven ex-workers, two lifelong employees and a child of a Snowy worker. As part of the project, participants created short films about their experience on the Snowy Scheme, each story offering a unique perspective into what life was like building the Scheme between 1949 and 1974. The project's artistic director Jenni Savigny assisted participants to make the short films; enabling them to put together the scripts, record voice overs and edit the short films. In an interview with Andrew Brown (

The Canberra Times ''The Canberra Times'' is a daily newspaper in Canberra, Australia, which is published by Australian Community Media. It was founded in 1926, and has changed ownership and format several times. History ''The Canberra Times'' was launched in ...

), Savigny said it was important to create a history of the Snowy Hydro using the participant's own words, "You just get a personal sense of what it was like to be there, and what it meant to people's lives." The films premiered 7 June 2018 at the Palace Electric Cinema in New Acton in Canberra and can be viewed on th
Woden Community Service YouTube
Channel.

Current operations

The Scheme is operated by

Snowy Hydro Limited Snowy Hydro Limited is an electricity generation and retailing company in Australia that owns, manages, and maintains the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Scheme which consists of nine hydro-electric power stations and sixteen large dams connecte ...

, an

unlisted public company An unlisted public company is a public company that is not listed on any stock exchange. Though the criteria vary somewhat between jurisdictions, a public company is a company that is registered as such and generally has a minimum share capital ...

incorporated pursuant to the , owned by the Australian Federal government. There is currently further work ongoing for the expansion of the snowy scheme under the Snowy scheme 2.0 announced in 2017. Despite government support it has revived many criticisms and concerns over the logistical and financial feasibility of the operation.

Environmental concerns

The original plan was for 99% of the water of the

's natural flow to be diverted by the Scheme below

. Releases from the Scheme were based on the needs of

riparian A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. Riparian is also the proper nomenclature for one of the terrestrial biomes of the Earth. Plant habitats and communities along the river margins and banks ar ...

users only and took no account of the ecosystem's needs. It soon became clear that there were major environmental problems in the lower reaches of the Snowy river. An extensive public campaign led to the Snowy Water Inquiry being established in January 1998. The Inquiry reported to the

and

n Governments in October of that year, recommending an increase to 15% of natural flows. The two governments were equivocal about this target. Aside from economic considerations, there was a view that the health of the Murray was more important than that of the Snowy and that any extra environmental flows were better used there instead. In the 1999 Victorian state election, the seat of Gippsland East was won by

Craig Ingram Craig Ingram (born 25 March 1965) is a former Australian politician, and was the Independent Member of Parliament for Gippsland East in the Victorian Legislative Assembly from 1999 to 2010. In 2012 he was appointed as executive officer for the ...

, an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

and member of the Snowy River Alliance, based in large part on his campaign to improve Snowy flows. In 2000, Victoria and NSW agreed to a long-term target of 28%, requiring A$156 million of investment to offset losses to inland irrigators. In August 2002 flows were increased to 6%, with a target of 21% within 10 years. However, by October 2008 it was evident that the return of environmental flows to the Snowy River in 2009 would be no more than 4% of natural flow with governments arguing the Snowy River needs to "pay back" the "Mowamba Borrowings". At the 2010 state election, Ingram lost the seat of Gippsland East to the Nationals. In 2017, it was announced that the 21% target would be reached for the first time. Some concerned water managers, conservationists, politicians and farmers continue to advocate for the return of environmental flows to the Snowy River. The Snowy River Alliance formed in 1996 to address the lack of environmental flow commemorates Snowy River Day annually, towards the end of August, to mark the 2002 anniversary of when the governments of Victoria, NSW and the Commonwealth first released water into the Snowy River over the Mowamba Weir. The Dalgety District and Community Association started in response to dirty drinking water for the town of Dalgety, the loss of fishing and looming closure of the caravan park. A weir was constructed at Dalgety and the caravan park stayed as a result of their efforts. In accordance with the Snowy Water Licence, Snowy Hydro Limited has 're-commissioned' the Mowamba Aqueduct. Seasonal variable flows are essential to river ecology including flushing flows to support vital ecosystems for the Australian platypus and native

Australian Bass The Australian bass (''Macquaria novemaculeata'') is a small- to medium-sized species of primarily freshwater (but estuarine spawning) fish found in coastal rivers and streams along the east coast of Australia. A member of the genus '' Macqua ...

, the species over which Ingram initially fought for flows into the Snowy River. A major spillway upgrade now facilitates these flows.

Components

Construction of the Scheme began in 1949 and was completed in 1974. Guthega power station commenced power production on 21 February 1955.

Power stations

The total installed capacity is .

Major dams and reservoirs

The Scheme's largest dam is

Talbingo Dam Talbingo Dam is a major ungated rock fill with clay core embankment dam with concrete chute spillway across the Tumut River upstream of Talbingo in the Snowy Mountains region of New South Wales, Australia. The impounded reservoir is called T ...

with an embankment volume of 14 488 000 m³ and a wall height of 161.5 meters.

Khancoban Dam Khancoban Dam is a major ungated earthfill dam, earthfill embankment dam, embankment dam with a Spillway#Types, controlled spillway across the Swampy Plain River in the Snowy Mountains region of New South Wales, Australia. The dam's main purpose i ...

is the longest dam in the scheme with a crest length of . A variety of dam and spillway types were used in the construction. With a capacity of , Lake Eucumbene is the largest reservoir in the Scheme. At the other end of the scale, Deep Creek Reservoir is the smallest reservoir with just .

Pumping Stations

The Snowy Mountains Scheme has two pumping stations. The 600 MW pump storage facility at Tumut 3 Power Station returns water to

Talbingo Reservoir Talbingo Dam is a major ungated rock fill with clay core embankment dam with concrete chute spillway across the Tumut River upstream of Talbingo in the Snowy Mountains region of New South Wales, Australia. The impounded reservoir is called Ta ...

. The 1 MW Jindabyne Pumping Station pumps water from

through to the Snowy-Geehi Tunnel at Island Bend.

Expansion plans

In March 2017, the Australian government suggested a $2 billion project expanding the 4.1 GW Snowy Mountains Scheme by 2 GW of pump storage for a week, building new tunnels and power stations, but no new dams. The 80% efficiency of such storage can be sufficient in leveling differences between supply and demand. Dubbed , the expansion has been under construction since 2019 and is due to complete by 2026.

Tourism

The Snowy Scheme is a major tourist destination. Sightseeing driving tours to the key locations of the Scheme are popular out of regional centres like

and

along roads built for the Scheme like the

Snowy Mountains Highway Snowy Mountains Highway is a state highway located in New South Wales, Australia. Its two sections connect the New South Wales South Coast to the Monaro region, and the Monaro to the South West Slopes via the Snowy Mountains. The higher alti ...

and

Alpine Way The Alpine Way is a rural road located in the Snowy Mountains region of New South Wales, Australia. The road connects in the east to the New South Wales / Victorian border in the west, crossing the Murray River, near Bringenbrong / Upper ...

and towards sights like Cabramurra, as Australia's highest town, spectacular dam walls, and scenic lakes. Trout fishing is popular in the lakes of the Scheme, notably Lake Jindabyne and Lake Eucumbene. The

Snowy Scheme Museum The Snowy Scheme Museum is a museum in the Snowy Mountains town of Adaminaby, New South Wales, Australia. It houses exhibitions relating to the Snowy Mountains Hydro Electric Scheme. Overview The Museum tells the story of the construction of ...

opened at Adaminaby in 2011 to profile the history of the Scheme. Though

skiing in Australia Skiing in Australia takes place in the Australian Alps in the states of New South Wales, Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory as well as in the mountains of the island state Tasmania, during the southern hemisphere winter. Skiing ...

began in the northern Snowy Mountains in the 1860s, it was the construction of the vast Snowy Scheme from 1949, with its improvements to infrastructure and influx of experienced European skiers among the workers on the Scheme, that really opened up the mountains for the large scale development of a ski industry, and led to the establishment of

and Perisher as leading Australian resorts. The construction of

Guthega Dam Guthega Dam is concrete gravity dam with an uncontrolled spillway across the Snowy River in the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales, Australia. The dam's main purpose is for the storage of water used in the generation of hydro-power . It is the ...

brought skiers to the isolated Guthega district and a rope tow was installed there in 1957. Charles Anton, a snowy worker identified the potential of the Thredbo Valley.

Engineering heritage award

The scheme is listed as a National Engineering Landmark by

Engineers Australia Engineers Australia (EA) is an Australian professional body and not-for-profit organisation whose purpose is to advance the science and practice of engineering for the benefit of the community. Engineers Australia is Australia's recognized org ...

as part of its Engineering Heritage Recognition Program.

References

External links

* * *
Snowy Hydro Limited
* * *
The Snowy River Alliance
— a community group for the protection of the Snowy River