Serpentine Dam | |
---|---|
Location of the Serpentine Dam in Tasmania | |
Country | Australia |
Location | South West Tasmania |
Coordinates | 42°46′35″S145°58′56″E / 42.77639°S 145.98222°E Coordinates: 42°46′35″S145°58′56″E / 42.77639°S 145.98222°E |
Purpose | Power |
Status | Operational |
Opening date | 1971 |
Owner(s) | Hydro Tasmania |
Dam and spillways | |
Type of dam | Embankment dam |
Impounds | Serpentine River |
Height | 38 metres (125 ft) |
Length | 134 metres (440 ft) |
Dam volume | 127×10 3 m3 (4.5×10 6 cu ft) |
Spillways | 1 |
Spillway type | Controlled |
Spillway capacity | 242 m3/s (8,500 cu ft/s) |
Reservoir | |
Creates | Lake Pedder |
Total capacity | 2,937,930 ML (103,752×10 6 cu ft) |
Catchment area | 734 km2 (283 sq mi) |
Surface area | 242 km2 (93 sq mi) |
Maximum water depth | 43 m (141 ft) |
Website hydro | |
[1] |
The Serpentine Dam is a rockfill embankment dam with a concrete face and a controlled spillway across the Serpentine River, located in the South West region of Tasmania, Australia.
The impounded reservoir, also formed with the Edgar Dam and the Scotts Peak Dam, is called Lake Pedder which flooded Lake Edgar, a naturally forming fault scarp pond. The dam was constructed in 1971 by the Hydro Electric Corporation (TAS) as part of the Gordon River Power Development Scheme for the purpose of generating hydro-electric power via the conventional Gordon Power Station. Water from Lake Pedder is diverted to Lake Gordon (formed by the Gordon Dam) via the McPartlan Pass Canal. [2] [3] [4]
The Serpentine Dam, together with the Edgar Dam and the Scotts Peak Dam, are three major dams that form the headwaters for the Gordon River Power Development Scheme. The dam is located near Lake Pedder's most northwesterly point where the Serpentine River descends from the Frankland Range into what is now known as the Pedder Reach. At the southern end of the Lake Pedder, the Scotts Peak Dam impounds the upper reaches of the Huon River. The Edgar Dam forms a saddle dam at Lake Pedder's most easterly point. The water in Lake Pedder provides around 40% of the water used in the Gordon Power Station. The water flows to Lake Gordon via McPartlan Canal. [2] Water from Lake Gordon then exits through the Gordon Power Station releasing via the tailrace into the Gordon River.
Built on a foundation of rock and soil, the Serpentine Dam wall was constructed with 127 thousand cubic metres (4.5×10 6 cu ft) of rockfill and faced with concrete. The dam wall is 38 metres (125 ft) high and 134 metres (440 ft) long. At 100% capacity the dam wall holds back 2,937,930 megalitres (103,752×10 6 cu ft) of water. The surface area of Lake Pedder is 241,330 hectares (596,300 acres) and the catchment area is 734 square kilometres (283 sq mi). The dam wall has a controlled spillway capable of discharging 242 cubic metres per second (8,500 cu ft/s). [1]
This non-hydroelectric dam helps retain water in the new impoundment, which then flows to Lake Gordon via the McPartlans Pass Canal at 42°50′51″S146°11′45″E / 42.84750°S 146.19583°E .
The construction of the Serpentine Dam resulted in the loss of one of the significant sub-populations of the endangered Centrolepis pedderensis , while the nearby Gordon Dam caused the loss of another. It is now only known to exist in one location on the Frankland Range. One sub-population existed along the Serpentine River and is now inundated as a direct cause of the creation of this dam. [5]
Lake Pedder, once a glacial outwash lake, is a man-made impoundment and diversion lake located in the southwest of Tasmania, Australia. In addition to its natural catchment from the Frankland Range, the lake is formed by the 1972 damming of the Serpentine and Huon rivers by the Hydro Electric Commission of Tasmania for the purposes of hydroelectric power generation.
Lake Gordon is a man-made reservoir created by the Gordon Dam, located on the upper reaches of the Gordon River in the south-west region of Tasmania, Australia.
Lake Margaret is a concrete-faced gravity dam with an uncontrolled spillway across the Yolande River, located on the north side of Mount Sedgwick, in the West Coast Range, West Coast of Tasmania, Australia.
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The Gordon Dam, also known as the Gordon River Dam, is a major gated double curvature concrete arch dam with a controlled spillway across the Gordon River, located in South West Tasmania, Australia. The impounded reservoir is called Lake Gordon.
The Serpentine River is a major perennial river located in the south-west and western regions of Tasmania, Australia.
The Scotts Peak Dam Road is the most southerly point of road access into the south western region of Tasmania, Australia.
The Scotts Peak Dam is a rockfill embankment dam without a spillway across the Huon River, located in the South West region of Tasmania, Australia.
The Edgar Dam is an earthfill embankment saddle dam without a spillway, located offstream in the South West region of Tasmania, Australia.
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Geehi Dam is a major ungated rockfill embankment dam across the Geehi River in the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales, Australia. The reservoir impounded by the dam is known as Geehi Reservoir.
Island Bend Dam is a major ungated concrete gravity dam with a controlled spillway across the Snowy River in the Snowy Mountains region of New South Wales, Australia. The dam's main purpose is for the generation of hydro-power and is one of the sixteen major dams that comprise the Snowy Mountains Scheme, a vast hydroelectricity and irrigation complex constructed in south-east Australia between 1949 and 1974 and now run by Snowy Hydro.
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