Windamere Dam is a minor ungated rock fill with 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 ...

with an uncontrolled unlined rock cutting spillway across the

Cudgegong River Cudgegong River, a perennial stream that is part of the Macquarie catchment within the Murray–Darling basin, is located in the central western and Orana districts of New South Wales, Australia. The river rises of the western slopes of the ...

at Cudgegong, upstream of

Mudgee Mudgee is a town in the Central West of New South Wales, Australia. It is in the broad fertile Cudgegong River valley north-west of Sydney and is the largest town in the Mid-Western Regional Council local government area as well as being th ...

in the

Central Tablelands The Central Tablelands in New South Wales is a geographic area that lies between the Sydney Metropolitan Area and the Central Western Slopes and Plains. The Great Dividing Range passes in a north–south direction through the Central Tablelands ...

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 ...

, Australia. The dam's purpose includes hydro-power,

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering) 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 been devel ...

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 conservation. 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 Lake Windamere.

Location and features

Commenced in 1974 and completed in 1984, the Windamere Dam is a minor ungated dam, located approximately south-west of Rylstone. The dam was built by Abignano Pty Ltd on behalf of the New South Wales Department of Land and Water Conservation to supply water for irrigation and potable water for the towns of

and

Gulgong Gulgong is a 19th-century gold rush town in the Central Tablelands and the wider Central West regions of the Australian state of New South Wales. The town is situated within the Mid-Western Regional Council local government area. It is locate ...

. Windamere Dam operates in conjunction with

Burrendong Dam Burrendong Dam is a rock-fill embankment major gated dam with a clay core across the Macquarie River upstream of Wellington in the central west region of New South Wales, Australia. The dam's purpose includes flood mitigation, irrigation, ...

to supply water to the Cudgegong and Macquarie valleys. The dam wall constructed with of rock fill with clay core is high and long. The maximum water depth is and at 100% capacity the dam wall holds back of water at AHD. The surface area of Lake Windamere is and the catchment area is . The uncontrolled unlined rock cut spillway is capable of discharging . Geotechnical problems included excessive grout takes in highly fractured rock in the dam foundation. The dam foundations are weathered Devonian conglomerates, sandstones and shales. The spillway is located about away from the dam wall in mostly unweathered

Ordovician The Ordovician ( ) is a geologic period and system, the second of six periods of the Paleozoic Era. The Ordovician spans 41.6 million years from the end of the Cambrian Period million years ago (Mya) to the start of the Silurian Period Mya. T ...

andesite Andesite () is a volcanic rock of intermediate composition. In a general sense, it is the intermediate type between silica-poor basalt and silica-rich rhyolite. It is fine-grained (aphanitic) to porphyritic in texture, and is composed predo ...

. The spillway is an unlined rock cutting that provided all the rock fill required for the construction of the dam embankment. If a spillway had been built in the weathered sedimentary rocks at the dam site full concrete lining would have been required. To allow the dam's construction, a 15 kilometre deviation of the

Castlereagh Highway Castlereagh Highway is a state highway located in New South Wales and Queensland, Australia. The highway's northern terminus is at a junction with Carnarvon Highway, south of , Queensland. Its southern terminus is at a junction with Great West ...

opened in December 1982.A Major Deviation of Trunk Route 55 Around Windamere Dam '' Main Roads'' March 1983 pages 15-17

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 generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid. Many ...

generates up to of

electricity Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as describ ...

from the flow of the water leaving Windamere Dam.

References

External links

* {{WaterNSW Dams completed in 1984 Energy infrastructure completed in 1984 Embankment dams Dams in New South Wales Hydroelectric power stations in New South Wales Dams in the Murray River basin Mid-Western Regional Council 1984 establishments in Australia

Location and features

Power generation

See also

References

External links