Wingecarribee Dam, completed in 1974 as part of the Shoalhaven Scheme, is an earth and rockfill embankment dam structure located on the Wingecarribee River about 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) southeast of Bowral in New South Wales, Australia. The embankment of 573 cubic metres (20,200 cu ft) is 19 metres (62 ft) high and 1,140 metres (3,740 ft) in length. At 100% capacity, the dam wall holds back approximately 25,875 megalitres (913.8×10^6 cu ft) and creates the impounded reservoir of Wingecarribee Reservoir that has a surface area of 625 hectares (1,540 acres), drawn from a catchment area of 40 square kilometres (15 sq mi). The spillway has a discharge capacity of 520 cubic metres per second (18,000 cu ft/s).[1] Wingecarribee Reservoir lost around 9,000 megalitres (320×10^6 cu ft) of storage capacity as a result of the inflow of peat from the Wingecarribee Swamp collapse in August 1998. The original storage capacity was 34,500 megalitres (1,220×10^6 cu ft).[2]

Wingecarribee Dam
The Wingecarribee Dam wall and reservoir, 2010
Coordinates34°32′39″S 150°28′48″E / 34.54417°S 150.48000°E / -34.54417; 150.48000
StatusOperational
Opening date1974
Dam and spillways
Type of damEmbankment dam
ImpoundsWingecarribee River
Height19 m (62 ft)
Length1,140 m (3,740 ft)
Dam volume573 m3 (20,200 cu ft)
Spillways2
Spillway capacity520 m3/s (18,000 cu ft/s)
Reservoir
CreatesWingecarribee Reservoir
Total capacity25,875 ML (913.8×10^6 cu ft)
Catchment area40 km2 (15 sq mi)
Surface area625 ha (1,540 acres)
Website
Wingecarribee Reservoir at www.sca.nsw.gov.au

The dam has two outlets, the usual main spillway flowing into the Wingecarribee River which feeds the Warragamba Dam system, and an added extra sluice system known as the Glenquarry Cut which feeds into the Glenquarry Creek and then the Nepean River.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Register of Large Dams in Australia". Dams information. The Australian National Committee on Large Dams Incorporated. 2010. Archived from the original (Excel (requires download)) on 12 December 2013. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
  2. ^ "Wingecarribee Reservoir". Water storage and supply report. Sydney Catchment Authority. Retrieved 9 March 2013.