The Gordon Dam, also known as the Gordon River Dam, is a major gated double curvature concrete

arch dam An arch dam is a concrete dam that is curved upstream in plan. The arch dam is designed so that the force of the water against it, known as hydrostatic pressure, presses against the arch, causing the arch to straighten slightly and strengthe ...

with a controlled

spillway A spillway is a structure used to provide the controlled release of water downstream from a dam or levee, typically into the riverbed of the dammed river itself. In the United Kingdom, they may be known as overflow channels. Spillways ensure th ...

across the

Gordon River The Gordon River is a major perennial river located in the central highlands, south-west, and western regions of Tasmania, Australia. Course and features The Gordon River rises below Mount Hobhouse in the Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers Nationa ...

, located in

South West Tasmania South West Tasmania is a region in Tasmania that has evoked curiosity as to its resources over the duration of European presence on the island. The more recent is the consideration as a potential area of resources for development and its consid ...

, Australia. 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 Gordon Lake Gordon is a man-made reservoir created by the Gordon Dam, located on the upper reaches of the Gordon River in the south-west region of Tasmania, Australia. Features The reservoir was formed in the early 1970s as a result of the dam const ...

. The dam was constructed in 1974 by the Hydro Electric Corporation (TAS) for the purpose of generating

hydro-electric power Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is 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 renewable sources combined an ...

via the conventional Gordon Power Station located below the dam wall.

Features and location

The Gordon Dam wall, constructed with of concrete, is long and high, making it the tallest dam in Tasmania and the fifth-tallest in Australia. At 100% capacity the dam wall holds back of water; making Lake Gordon the largest lake in Australia. The surface area of the lake is and the catchment area is . The single controlled spillway is capable of discharging . Approximately 48 arch dams have been built in Australia and only nine have double curvature. Gordon Dam is almost twice the height of the next highest arch dam,

Tumut Pondage Tumut Pond Dam () is a major ungated concrete arch dam across the upper reaches of the Tumut 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 ...

Power station

Water from the dam descends underground into its power station, where three

turbines A turbine ( or ) (from the Greek , ''tyrbē'', or Latin ''turbo'', meaning vortex) is a rotary mechanical device that extracts energy from a fluid flow and converts it into useful Work (physics), work. The work produced by a turbine can be used ...

of generate up to of power, covering about 13% of the electricity demand of

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

. The first two turbines were commissioned in 1978, before the third was commissioned a decade later in 1988. The power station is fueled by water from Lake Gordon. Water from

Lake Pedder Lake Pedder, once a glacial outwash lake, is a man-made impoundment and diversion lake located in the southwest of Tasmania, Australia. In addition to its natural catchment from the Frankland Range, the lake is formed by the 1972 damming of the ...

is also drawn into Lake Gordon through the McPartlans Pass Canal at .

History

In 1963, the

Australian 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 ...

provided an 5 million grant to Tasmania's Hydro-Electric Commission to build the Gordon River Road from Maydena into the Gordon River area in the

South West Wilderness The South West Wilderness of Tasmania, Australia is a remote and inaccessible region of South West Tasmania containing unspoilt scenery, rugged peaks, wild rivers, unique flora and fauna, and a long and rugged coastline. Parts of the wilderness ...

region. Construction was underway by 1964, and within three years, the Tasmanian State Parliament approved the ''Gordon River Power Development'' with little in house opposition in 1967. Power operation began in 1978, a third generator was added in 1988. The completed Gordon Dam was the only dam built on the Gordon River, despite the support of Tasmanian politicians such as

Eric Reece Eric Elliott Reece, AC (6 July 190923 October 1999) was Premier of Tasmania on two occasions: from 26 August 1958 to 26 May 1969, and from 3 May 1972 to 31 March 1975. His 13 years as premier remains the second longest in Tasmania's history, On ...

, Robin Gray, and others to build the

Franklin Dam The Franklin Dam or Gordon-below-Franklin Dam project was a proposed dam on the Gordon River in Tasmania, Australia, that was never constructed. The movement that eventually led to the project's cancellation became one of the most significant ...

further downstream. The construction of Gordon Dam resulted in some flooding of the connected Lake Pedder as planned. Subsequent opposition to restore Lake Pedder failed after a Parliamentary inquiry in 1995. The dam was designed with Dr. Sergio Guidici as the chief engineer. He went on to be involved with the design of the Crotty Dam in the West Coast Range, one of the last significant dams created by Hydro Tasmania during its unabated dam-building era. The dam is connected with the Gordon River Power Station, under the surface of the switch yard. In 2015, the Perth-based YouTube channel How Ridiculous broke the world record for the world's highest basketball shot at Gordon dam, though this record has since been surpassed by How Ridiculous themselves twice over.

2015–2016 Tasmanian energy crisis

Due to an extreme drought in 2015 and the untimely failure of the related Basslink power feed, electricity production needs had drained the lake to its minimum operating level in March 2016. The water level fell 45 metres to a record low of six per cent capacity. Pictures document the dramatic effect. After repair of Basslink and record rainfalls, Lake Gordon levels had recovered to -28 metres by January 2017.

Engineering heritage award

The dam 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