The Cotter River System (CRS) is located 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. I ...

and was constructed in 1912. A feature of the

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 t ...

, the Cotter River System is one of two main sources for the Australian Capital Territory's

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 ...

, the other being the

Queanbeyan River The Queanbeyan River, a perennial stream that is part of the Molonglo catchment within the Murray–Darling basin, is located in the Monaro and Capital Country regions of New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, in Australia. The ...

located north of the Australian Capital Territory in New South Wales. Nevertheless, the Cotter River System is a larger catchment area and due to recent drought conditions the

has been seen as obsolete in comparison. Comprising three primary

dams 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 ...

, the Cotter River System has been a reliable water source despite low

precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel and hail. ...

and high temperatures experienced in the Australian Capital Territory in the past decade.

References

Rivers of New South Wales {{NewSouthWales-river-stub

See also

References