Tallowa Dam

 ( Dams Completed In 1976 ) 

Tallowa Dam is an Australian gravity dam with central overflow spillway, located on the Shoalhaven River, downstream from the river's confluence with the Kangaroo River. The dam wall of is high and in length. At 100% capacity, the dam wall holds back approximately and creates the impounded reservoir of Lake Yarrunga that has a surface area of , drawn from a catchment area of . The spillway has a discharge capacity of . Register of Large Dams in Australia Australian National Committee on Large Dams

The full operating storage for Tallowa Dam refers only to the amount of water in the dam that is available to be transferred to Sydney and the Illawarra. When full, the dam can hold approximately . is available to be transferred to the Sydney water supply. Other water from Tallowa Dam is provided to Shoalhaven City Council for supply to local communities. Water is also released from the dam as environmental flows for the Shoalhaven River.

The construction of a large barrier across the river has meant that the means of travel for fish has been completely confounded. There was no longer any means for the fish to get to their spawning areas further upstream. NSW aspect in dam plan Canberra Times 13 December 1974 An innovative fish lift was constructed in 2009 to allow the fish to be collected and transferred over the dam wall.

Construction by CIMIC Group began in 1972. New dam Canberra Times 22 June 1972 In Brief Canberra Times 14 July 1972 It was completed in 1976.