Warragamba Dam Spillway

Warragamba Dam is the structure that provides the major water supply for Sydney, Australia, situated approximately 65 km to the west of Sydney in the Burragorang Valley. Download high resolution version (1024x768, 172 KB) Warragamba Dam taken by Peter Bertok on the 25th of January 2004. ... Download high resolution version (1024x768, 172 KB) Warragamba Dam taken by Peter Bertok on the 25th of January 2004. ... The Sydney Opera House is one of the most iconic landmarks in the world, and since its opening it has become an international symbol of Sydney Sydney (pronounced ) is the state capital of New South Wales, located on the east coast of Australia. ...

Warragamba River flows through a 300-600 m wide gorge, about 100 m deep before opening out into a large valley. This allows a relatively short and high dam to impound a vast quantity of water. In 1845, Paweł Edmund Strzelecki first drew attention to Warragamba River as a water supply catchment. A dam was first proposed in 1867, with various schemes proposed and investigated between then and 1946 when the site and design of the current dam was approved. Scrivener Dam, in Canberra, Australia, was engineered to withstand a once-in-5000-years flood event A dam is a barrier across flowing water that obstructs, directs or retards the flow, often creating a reservoir, lake or impoundment. ... Polish postage stamp featuring Strzelecki PaweÅ‚ Edmund Strzelecki (July 20, 1797 - October 6, 1873), known as Sir Paul Edmund de Strzelecki in the United Kingdom, was a Polish nobleman, explorer and geologist. ... Scrivener Dam, in Canberra, Australia, was engineered to withstand a once-in-5000-years flood event A dam is a barrier across flowing water that obstructs, directs or retards the flow, often creating a reservoir, lake or impoundment. ...

Construction began in 1948 and was completed by 1960. It dams the Warragamba River to form Lake Burragorang which is one of the largest reservoirs for urban water supply in the world. There is also a hydroelectric power station at the dam which can generate 50 MW. Lake Burragorang is the water storage impounded by Warragamba Dam. ... Gelmersee is a reservoir in Switzerland. ... Hydroelectric dam diagram The waters of Llyn Stwlan, the upper reservoir of the Ffestiniog Pumped-Storage Scheme in north Wales, can just be glimpsed on the right. ...

The dam wall comprises 3,000,000 tonnes (1,200,000 m³) of concrete. In order to control the temperature rise as the concrete set, ice was added to the mix (the first time this had been done in Australia) and chilled water was circulated through cooling pipes embedded in the concrete.

Between 1987 and 1989, the dam wall was raised by 5 m. Between 1998 and 2002, an auxiliary spillway was constructed on the east bank of the dam. Both these measures were undertaken following a re-evaluation of the potential rainfall and flood risks.

Although it was not designed as a flood control measure, Warragamba Dam can mitigate flooding downstream by holding floodwaters back while the reservoir fills. Its limitations, however, become apparent when the reservoir reaches capacity and water must be released through the floodgates.

Warragamba Dam is also a popular picnic spot for Sydneysiders, with up to 3000 people visiting the area on Father's Day. Sydneysider, or Sydneyite is the term used to refer to residents of Sydney, the capital city of New South Wales, Australia. ... Fathers Day is a holiday to celebrate fatherhood and parenting by males, just as Mothers Day celebrates motherhood. ...

• Main wall is 142 m high and 352 m wide
• Capacity: 2.031 km³
• Catchment area: 9000 km²
• Power generation capacity: 50 MW

The megawatt (symbol: MW) is a unit for measuring power corresponding to one million (106) watts. ...

External links

• FloodSafe NSW Warragamba FAQ
• Warragamba Dam information
• Warragamba Dam levels and statistics
• Sydney Catchment Authority - Warragamba Dam

Reference

• The Water Supply, Sewerage and Drainage of Sydney, W.V.Aird, 1961, MWS&DB.