Eucumbene Dam
| Eucumbene Dam | |
|---|---|
Lake Eucumbene looking towards the Snowy Mountains, 2012.
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 Location of Eucumbene Dam in
New South Wales |
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| Country | Australia |
| Location | Snowy Mountains, New South Wales |
| Coordinates | 36°07′42″S 148°36′57″E / 36.12843°S 148.61575°ECoordinates: 36°07′42″S 148°36′57″E / 36.12843°S 148.61575°E |
| Purpose | Hydro-power, diversion, irrigation |
| Status | Operational |
| Construction began | May 1956 |
| Opening date | May 1958 |
| Owner(s) | Snowy Hydro |
| Dam and spillways | |
| Type of dam | Embankment dam |
| Impounds | Eucumbene River |
| Height | 116 m (381 ft) |
| Length | 579 m (1,900 ft) |
| Elevation at crest | 1,168 metres (3,832 ft) AHD |
| Width (base) | 686 m (2,251 ft) |
| Dam volume | 6,735,000 m3 (237,800,000 cu ft) |
| Spillways | 1 |
| Spillway type | Overflow ski-jump and bucket with two vertical lift gates |
| Spillway capacity | 475 m3/s (16,800 cu ft/s) |
| Reservoir | |
| Creates | Lake Eucumbene |
| Total capacity | 4,798 GL (1.055×1012 imp gal; 1.267×1012 US gal) (4.798 km3; 3,890,000 acre·ft) |
| Active capacity | 4,366.5 GL (9.605×1011 imp gal; 1.1535×1012 US gal) (4.3665 km3; 3,540,000 acre·ft) |
| Catchment area | 683 km2 (264 sq mi) |
| Surface area | 14,542 ha (35,930 acres) |
| Maximum water depth | 107 m (351 ft) |
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Website Eucumbene Dam at the Powerhouse Museum. |
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Eucumbene Dam is a major gated earthfill embankment dam with an overflow ski-jump and bucket spillway with two vertical lift gates across the Eucumbene 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 dams that comprise the Snowy Mountains Scheme, a vast hydroelectricity and irrigation complex constructed in south-east Australia between 1949 and 1974 and now run by Snowy Hydro.
The impounded reservoir is called Lake Eucumbene, the largest storage lake in the Snowy Mountains Scheme.
Commenced in May 1956 and completed in May 1958, Eucumbene Dam is a major dam, located approximately 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) northeast of the locality of Eucumbene Cove. The dam was constructed by a consortium comprising the Department of Public Works and Kaiser-Walsh-Perini-Raymond based on engineering plans developed by the United States Bureau of Reclamation and the Department of Public Works, under contract from the Snowy Mountains Hydroelectric Authority. Construction of the dam inundated the original township of Old Adaminaby, which was relocated to Adaminaby in the 1950s, requiring approximately 800 people to be moved.
The outer walls of the dam are built of rock while the inner core is compacted, impervious clay. The earthfill embankment dam wall comprising 6,735,000 cubic metres (237,800,000 cu ft) of earth and rockfill is 116 metres (381 ft) high and 579 metres (1,900 ft) long. The foundation of the dam comprises closely jointed hard siltstone and quartzite with overburden of decomposed rock and slope-wash up to 6.1 metres (20 ft) deep. A subsidiary embankment containing 121,900 cubic metres (4,300,000 cu ft) of fill across a low saddle in a ridge forms the left abutment of the dam wall. At 100% capacity the dam wall, with an elevation of 1,168 metres (3,832 ft) AHD, holds back 4,798 gigalitres (1.055×1012 imp gal; 1.267×1012 US gal) or (4.798 km3; 3,890,000 acre·ft) of water, approximately equal to nine times the volume of Sydney Harbour. The surface area of Lake Eucumbene is 14,542 hectares (35,930 acres) and the catchment area is 683 square kilometres (264 sq mi). The overflow ski-jump and bucket spillway with two vertical lift gates is capable of discharging 475 cubic metres per second (16,800 cu ft/s). The two gates, each 6.7 metres (22 ft) wide by 3.9 metres (13 ft) high were constructed during 1977-78 under a separate contract.
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Wikipedia