Glennies Creek Dam is a minor ungated
concrete faced curved earth and rockfill 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, a ...
with an
uncontrolled rock cut spillway across the Glennies Creek, upstream of
Singleton, in the
Hunter
Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...
region of
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
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 dam's purpose includes
flood mitigation
In environmental engineering, the flood mitigation involves the management and control of flood water movement, such as redirecting flood run-off through the use of floodwalls and flood gates, rather than trying to prevent floods altogether. It a ...
,
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 ...
,
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 Saint Clair.
Glennies Creek Dam was created through enabling legislation enacted through the passage of the . The
Act appropriated AU$
The Australian dollar (sign: $; code: AUD) is the currency of Australia, including its external territories: Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, and Norfolk Island. It is officially used as currency by three independent Pacific Island s ...
30 million as the estimated cost of construction of the dam.
Location and features
Commenced in August 1980 and completed in June 1983, the Glennies Creek Dam is a minor dam on Glennies Creek, a tributary of the
Hunter River Hunter River may refer to:
*Hunter River (New South Wales), Australia
*Hunter River (Western Australia)
*Hunter River, New Zealand
*Hunter River (Prince Edward Island), Canada
**Hunter River, Prince Edward Island, community on Hunter River, Canada
...
, located approximately north of Singleton and upstream of the
confluence
In geography, a confluence (also: ''conflux'') occurs where two or more flowing bodies of water join to form a single channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main stem); o ...
of Glennies Creek with the Hunter River.
The dam was built by Citra Constructions Limited on behalf of the NSW Department of Land and Water Conservation and the NSW Department of Water Resources to supply water for the town of Singleton, as well as irrigation, flood mitigation, and for
coal mining
Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...
.
The dam wall height is and the arch crest is long. The maximum water depth is and at 100% capacity the dam wall holds back of water at
AHD. The surface area of Lake Saint Clair is and the catchment area is . The uncontrolled rockcut spillway is capable of discharging .
A high control tower with variable level inlets allows for the control of the quality and temperature of water released from the dam. Glennies Creek Dam is operated in conjunction with
Glenbawn Dam
Glenbawn Dam is a major ungated earth and rock fill with clay core embankment dam with concrete chute spillway plus fuse plugs across the Hunter River upstream of Aberdeen in the Hunter region of New South Wales, Australia. The dam's purpose inc ...
. The two dams supply water requirements along of the Hunter River from Glenbawn to the tidal reaches near
Maitland.
Glennies Creek Dam spillway is an unlined cutting in welded ash flow tuff which supplied the entire rock fill requirement for the construction of the dam embankment. The spillway
excavation
Excavation may refer to:
* Excavation (archaeology)
* Excavation (medicine)
* ''Excavation'' (The Haxan Cloak album), 2013
* ''Excavation'' (Ben Monder album), 2000
* ''Excavation'' (novel), a 2000 novel by James Rollins
* '' Excavation: A Memo ...
was designed to be located entirely in welded tuff and not to encroach on either the underlying non-welded tuff or the overlying
sandstone
Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks.
Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...
, both of these rock types being much inferior to the welded tuff as a rock fill construction material.
The Glennies Creek and the Glennies Creek Dam are both named after James Glennie, a former naval captain who was granted creek frontage land near the Hunter River junction in 1824.
Recreation
The dam is a popular location for swimming, boating, sailing, water skiing and fishing.
See also
*
Irrigation in Australia
*
List of dams and reservoirs in Australia
References
External links
*
*
{{Hunter Region places and items of interest , state=autocollapse
Concrete-face rock-fill dams
Dams completed in 1983
Dams in New South Wales
Hunter Region
Embankment dams