Burrendong Dam
Encyclopedia
Burrendong Dam is a Rock-fill dam
with a clay core across the Macquarie River upstream of Wellington
in New South Wales
, Australia
.
The dam impounds Lake Burrendong
and is filled by the waters from the Macquarie and Cudgegong
rivers.
The dam was constructed in 1967 to provide flood mitigation. A small quantity of electricity
is generated from the flow of the water leaving Burrendong Dam. On 9 February 1999, the Premier of New South Wales
the Honourable Bob Carr
, officially opened the hydroelectricity
station, owned by Power Facilities Pty Limited.
The height of the dam wall is 76m high, the equivalent height of a 25 storey building, and is 1,113m wide at the crest. The water depth is 57m and at 100% capacity the water level is 344m above sea level. The surface area of the dam is 7,200ha, equal to nearly 10,000 football fields, and the catchment area of the dam is 13,900km².
Burrendong Dam has a capacity of 1,188,000 megalitres(ML) at 100%. This amount of water can fill Sydney Harbour 3 times over. On top of this the dam has a further flood mitigation capacity of 480,000ML, and when the flood capacity is used the total amount of water within the dam is equal to over four Sydney Harbours.
The spillway on the dam is a gated concrete chute, with a release capacity of 1,199,000ML per day.
Burrendong Dam has twice been recorded at a critically low level of 1.5% in drought. In contrast, however, Burrendong has mitigated potentially devastating floods downstream by using its flood capacity and releasing water in accordance with downstream tributary flows, safely reaching 160% of capacity in 1990 and 152.8% in 2010.
Dam
A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...
with a clay core across the Macquarie River upstream of Wellington
Wellington, New South Wales
Wellington is a town in inland New South Wales, Australia located at the junction of the Macquarie and Bell Rivers. The town is the administrative centre of the Wellington Shire Local Government Area. The town is 362 kilometres from Sydney on the Great Western Highway and Mitchell Highway...
in New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, 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...
.
The dam impounds Lake Burrendong
Lake Burrendong
Lake Burrendong is the name of the impoundment created by Burrendong Dam on the Macquarie River in the central west of New South Wales.The water of the Macquarie River and the Cudgegong River flow into the lake, which, when full, has a capacity of approximately 1,189,000 megalitres...
and is filled by the waters from the Macquarie and Cudgegong
Cudgegong River
The Cudgegong River is a tributary of the Macquarie River in New South Wales. It rises near Rylstone and flows generally north-west past Mudgee it flows past the edge of Gulgong and then into Lake Burrendong which is created by Burrendong Dam on the Macquarie River. Windamere Dam on the Cudgegong...
rivers.
The dam was constructed in 1967 to provide flood mitigation. A small quantity of electricity
Electricity
Electricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...
is generated from the flow of the water leaving Burrendong Dam. On 9 February 1999, the Premier of New South Wales
Premiers of New South Wales
The Premier of New South Wales is the head of government in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The Government of New South Wales follows the Westminster system, with a Parliament of New South Wales acting as the legislature...
the Honourable Bob Carr
Bob Carr
Robert John "Bob" Carr , Australian statesman, was Premier of New South Wales from 4 April 1995 to 3 August 2005. He holds the record for the longest continuous service as premier of NSW...
, officially opened the hydroelectricity
Hydroelectricity
Hydroelectricity is the term referring to electricity generated by hydropower; the production of electrical power through the use of the gravitational force of falling or flowing water. It is the most widely used form of renewable energy...
station, owned by Power Facilities Pty Limited.
The height of the dam wall is 76m high, the equivalent height of a 25 storey building, and is 1,113m wide at the crest. The water depth is 57m and at 100% capacity the water level is 344m above sea level. The surface area of the dam is 7,200ha, equal to nearly 10,000 football fields, and the catchment area of the dam is 13,900km².
Burrendong Dam has a capacity of 1,188,000 megalitres(ML) at 100%. This amount of water can fill Sydney Harbour 3 times over. On top of this the dam has a further flood mitigation capacity of 480,000ML, and when the flood capacity is used the total amount of water within the dam is equal to over four Sydney Harbours.
The spillway on the dam is a gated concrete chute, with a release capacity of 1,199,000ML per day.
Burrendong Dam has twice been recorded at a critically low level of 1.5% in drought. In contrast, however, Burrendong has mitigated potentially devastating floods downstream by using its flood capacity and releasing water in accordance with downstream tributary flows, safely reaching 160% of capacity in 1990 and 152.8% in 2010.