Blowering Dam
Encyclopedia
Tumut River
The Tumut River is a river in New South Wales, Australia.The Tumut River rises on the northern face of Mount Jagungal in the Snowy Mountains of southern New South Wales. It flows about 145km before joining the Murrumbidgee River, at Darbalara near the town of Gundagai...
in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. It is part of the Snowy Mountains Scheme
Snowy Mountains Scheme
The Snowy Mountains scheme is a hydroelectricity and irrigation complex in south-east Australia. It consists of sixteen major dams; seven power stations; a pumping station; and 225 kilometres of tunnels, pipelines and aqueducts and was constructed between 1949 and 1974. The Chief engineer was Sir...
. Associated with the dam is the Blowering Power Station.
The dam was completed in 1968. It holds 1,628,000 megalitres (million litres). The wall height is 112 m and is constructed of earth and rockfill. The water from the dam is used for irrigation along the Murrumbidgee River
Murrumbidgee River
The Murrumbidgee River is a major river in the state of New South Wales, Australia, and the Australian Capital Territory . A major tributary of the Murray River, the Murrumbidgee flows in a west-northwesterly direction from the foot of Peppercorn Hill in the Fiery Range of the Snowy Mountains,...
, Yanco/Colombo/Billabong Creek
Billabong Creek
Billabong Creek is a creek in the Riverina region in New South Wales, Australia. The creek is part of the Murray-Darling River system. It is held to be the longest creek in New South Wales....
s system, the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area
Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area
The Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area is geographically located within the Riverina area of New South Wales was created to control and divert the flow of local river and creek systems for the purpose of food production...
and the Colleambally Irrigation Area.
Ken Warby
Ken Warby is an Australian motorboat racer, who currently holds the Water speed record of 317.60 miles per hour...
set the Water speed record
Water speed record
The World Unlimited water speed record is the officially recognised fastest speed achieved by a water-borne vehicle. The current record of 511 km/h was achieved in 1978....
of 511 km/h (317.60 mph) on Blowering Dam.
Upgrade
On 23 April 2009, New South Wales Government announced Macmahon Construction was the successful tenderer for A$Australian dollar
The Australian dollar is the currency of the Commonwealth of Australia, including Christmas Island, Cocos Islands, and Norfolk Island, as well as the independent Pacific Island states of Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu...
33 million for parapet wall and spillway modifications, to prevent flooding in the future, which are due to begin in May 2009 and completed in 2011.