Burrendong Dam

Not to be confused with Lake Burrendong.

Burrendong Dam
Location of the Burrendong Dam in New South Wales
Country	Australia
Location	Wellington, New South Wales
Coordinates
Purpose	Flood mitigation, irrigation, water supply
Status	Operational
Construction began	1958
Opening date	1967
Owner(s)	State Water Corporation
Dam and spillways
Type of dam	Embankment dam
Impounds	Macquarie River
Height	76 metres (249 ft)
Length	1,116 metres (3,661 ft)
Dam volume	6,345 cubic metres (224,100 cu ft)
Spillways	One
Spillway type	Gated concrete chute
Spillway capacity	13,720 cubic metres per second (485,000 cu ft/s)
Reservoir
Creates	Lake Burrendong
Total capacity	1,188 gigalitres (4.20×1010 cu ft)
Catchment area	13,886 square kilometres (5,361 sq mi)
Surface area	8,900 hectares (22,000 acres)
Normal elevation	344 metres (1,129 ft) AMSL
Power station
Operator(s)	AGL Energy
Commission date	1996
Type	Conventional
Installed capacity	19 megawatts (25,000 hp)
Annual generation	50.9 gigawatt-hours (183 TJ)
Website Burrendong Dam at www.statewater.com.au

Burrendong Dam is a rock-fill embankment major gated dam with a clay core across the Macquarie River upstream of Wellington in the central west region of New South Wales, Australia. The dam's purpose includes flood mitigation, irrigation, water supply and hydro-electric power generation. The dam impounds Lake Burrendong and is filled by the waters from the Macquarie and Cudgegong rivers and Meroo Creek.

Location and features

Commenced in 1958 and completed in 1967, the Burrendong Dam is a major dam on the Macquarie River, within the Macquarie Valley, approximately 30 kilometres (19 mi) southeast of Wellington. The dam was built by the New South Wales Water Conservation & Irrigation Commission for the purposes of providing flood mitigation, irrigation, and water supply.

The dam wall height is 76 metres (249 ft) and is 1,116 metres (3,661 ft) long. The water depth is 57 metres (187 ft) and at 100% capacity the water level is 344 metres (1,129 ft) AHD. The surface area of the dam is 7,200 hectares (18,000 acres), and the catchment area of the dam is 13,900 square kilometres (5,400 sq mi). At 100%, Burrendong Dam has a capacity of 1,188 gigalitres (4.20×10¹⁰ cu ft). On top of this the dam has a further flood mitigation capacity of 480,000 megalitres (17,000×10^⁶ cu ft). The spillway on the dam is a gated concrete chute, with a release capacity of 13,720 cubic metres per second (485,000 cu ft/s).

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.

The A$32 million first phase of a major upgrade began in 2010 and is expected to be completed during 2015. This project will bring the dam up to modern safety standards, including the raising of the main dam wall and saddle dam by 1.8 metres (5 ft 11 in) as well as modifications to the existing spillway, complemented by construction of an auxiliary spillway and fuse plug.

Power generation

A hydro-electric power station generates up to 19 megawatts (25,000 hp) of electricity from the flow of the water leaving Burrendong Dam. The average output is 50.9 gigawatt-hours (183 TJ) per annum. The station was completed in August 1996 and was officially opened on 9 February 1999 by the Premier of New South Wales, Bob Carr. At the time, the facility was operated by Power Facilities Pty Limited; and is now managed by AGL Energy.

See also

• List of dams and reservoirs in New South Wales

External links

• Central West Catchment Management Authority website