Product Code Database
Burrendong Dam is a rock-fill embankment dam 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 hydroelectricity power generation. The dam impounds Lake Burrendong and is filled by the waters from the Macquarie, and Cudgegong River rivers as well as Meroo Creek.
The village of Burrendong, once a gold-mining area, was flooded by the construction of the dam.
The dam wall height is and is long. The water depth is and at 100% capacity the water level is AHD. The surface area of the dam is and the catchment area of the dam is . At 100%, Burrendong Dam has a capacity of . Additionally, the dam has a further flood mitigation capacity of . The spillway on the dam is a gated concrete chute with a release capacity of .
Burrendong Dam has three times been recorded at a critically low level of 1.5% in drought. Contrastingly, 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. In January 2020, the lake was again reported to be at 1.6% level.
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 as well as modifications to the existing spillway, complemented by construction of an auxiliary spillway and fuse plug.
An 800 megawatt, 15 hour (11,900 MWh) pumped-storage hydroelectricity project east of the lake (but not using the lake) won a state tender in early 2025. Two new reservoirs are to be built, with a height difference of 350 meters. Cost may be AUD1.8 billion.
|
|
