Waranga Dam

Last updated • 2 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

Waranga Dam
Harriman Point.jpg
Waranga Basin at Harriman Point in 2023
Australia Victoria relief location map.jpg
Red pog.svg
Location of the Waranga Dam in Victoria
CountryAustralia
Location North Central region, Victoria
Coordinates 36°33′S145°06′E / 36.550°S 145.100°E / -36.550; 145.100
Purpose Irrigation
StatusOperational
Construction began1905 (1905)
Opening date1915 (1915); 1926 (1926)
Owner(s) Goulburn–Murray Water
Dam and spillways
Type of dam Embankment dam
Impounds Off-stream
Height (foundation)12.2 m (40 ft)
Length7 km (4.3 mi)
Dam volume58.480 million m3 (2.0652 billion cu ft)
Reservoir
CreatesWaranga Basin (official)
Total capacity432,360 ML (95.11 billion imp gal; 114.22 billion US gal)
Surface area58.5 km2 (22.6 sq mi)
Website
www.g-mwater.com.au/water-resources/storages/warangabasin at Goulburn–Murray Water
[1]

The Waranga Dam is a major earthfill embankment dam with an uncontrolled spillway located approximately 150 kilometres (93 mi) north of Melbourne in the North Central region of the Australian state of Victoria. The impounded off-stream reservoir is Waranga Basin and forms part of the Goulburn River irrigation system, irrigating an area of 626 square kilometres (242 sq mi). [1] The dam and reservoir are located in Shire of Campaspe near the City of Greater Shepparton and is located 8 kilometres (5 mi) north-east of Rushworth, 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) south-west of Tatura, and near Murchison. When full, the reservoir covers an area of 58.5 square kilometres (22.6 sq mi).

Contents

The area now covered by the Waranga Basin includes a swamp that was known as Warranga (an indigenous word) or Gunn's after William Gunn, one of the early pastoralists who established his squatting run, also called Waranga, in the area surrounding the swamp. William Gunn was a Braehour Gunn who emigrated to Victoria in 1853 from Wick, Scotland. His half-brother was the Honourable Donald Gunn of Manitoba, Canada. [2] Gold was discovered near Waranga Swamp in 1853, making it one of Victoria's oldest goldfields. [3]

Construction

Construction of the earth dam began in 1905 and was completed in 1915 using picks, shovels and horse-drawn scoops. The site of the basin was a former swamp in the then Waranga Shire. Construction of the dam was commissioned by the State Rivers and Water Supply Commission of Victoria for the irrigation of the Western Goulburn Valley. At the time of construction, the Waranga Basin embankment was described as the largest project of its sort in the world with an embankment height of 8.8 metres (29 ft) and length of 7 kilometres (4.3 mi). [1]

Between 1915 and 1926, the embankment was raised in stages and a core wall was inserted. By 1921, the embankment was raised to 12.2 metres (40 ft) allowing the storage capacity to be increased to 432,360 ML (95.11 billion imp gal; 114.22 billion US gal), its current capacity. [4] The major road between Tatura and Rushworth crosses the outlet.

Distribution of the water

Waranga Basin stores water flowing downstream from Lake Eildon as well as having a catchment area of its own. Waranga Basin supplies water to the Central Goulburn Irrigation Area and Rochester Irrigation Area. However, the Waranga Western Channel takes some of the water 180 kilometres (110 mi) to Pyramid Hill and Boort. Goulburn–Murray Water is responsible for regulating the flow of water from the basin.

Normally, only about three-quarters of the 432,360 ML (95.11 billion imp gal; 114.22 billion US gal) can be used in irrigation. However, in 2002–03, an additional 90,000 ML (20 billion imp gal; 24 billion US gal) were pumped to the Goulburn Irrigation System to assist farmers experiencing severe drought.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dartmouth Dam</span> Dam in Victoria

Dartmouth Dam is a large rock-fill embankment dam with an uncontrolled chute spillway across the Mitta Mitta, Gibbo and Dart rivers, the Morass Creek and a number of small tributaries. The dam is located near Mount Bogong in the north-east of the Australian state of Victoria. The dam's purpose includes irrigation, the generation of hydro-electric power, water supply and conservation. The impounded reservoir is called Dartmouth Reservoir, sometimes called Lake Dartmouth. The Dartmouth Power Station, a hydro-electric power station that generates power to the national grid, is located near the dam wall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hume Dam</span> Dam in Riverina, New South Wales

Hume Dam, formerly the Hume Weir, is a major dam across the Murray River downstream of its junction with the Mitta River in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. The dam's purpose includes flood mitigation, hydro-power, irrigation, water supply and conservation. The impounded reservoir is called Lake Hume, formerly the Hume Reservoir. It is a gated concrete gravity dam with four earth embankments and twenty-nine vertical undershot gated concrete overflow spillways.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Balonne River</span> River in Queensland, Australia

The Balonne River, part of the Murray-Darling Basin system, is a short yet significant part of the inland river group of South West Queensland, Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goulburn River</span> River in Victoria, Australia

The Goulburn River, a major inland perennial river of the Goulburn Broken catchment, part of the Murray-Darling basin, is located in the Alpine, Northern Country/North Central, and Southern Riverina regions of the Australian state of Victoria. The headwaters of the Goulburn River rise in the western end of the Victorian Alps, below the peak of Corn Hill before descending to flow into the Murray River near Echuca, making it the longest river in Victoria at 654 kilometres (406 mi). The river is impounded by the Eildon Dam to create Lake Eildon, the Eildon Pondage, the Goulburn Weir and Waranga Basin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eildon Dam</span> Dam in Victorian Alps, Victoria

The Eildon Dam is a rock and earth-fill embankment dam with a controlled spillway, located on the Goulburn River between the regional towns of Mansfield and Eildon within Lake Eildon National Park, in the Alpine region of Victoria, Australia. The dam's purpose is for the supply of potable water, irrigation, and the generation of hydroelectricity. The impounded reservoir is called Lake Eildon.The first cut of ground was done by Mr Bain and Mr MacLean from Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loddon River</span> River in Victoria, Australia

The Loddon River, an inland river of the north–central catchment, part of the Murray-Darling basin, is located in the lower Riverina bioregion and Central Highlands and Loddon Mallee regions of the Australian state of Victoria. The headwaters of the Loddon River rise on the northern slopes of the Great Dividing Range east of Daylesford and descend to flow north into the Little Murray River, near Swan Hill. The river is impounded by the Cairn Curran and Laanecoorie reservoirs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lake Eppalock</span> Dam in North central region, Victoria

Lake Eppalock is an Australian reservoir in North Central Victoria about 130 kilometres (81 mi) northwest of Melbourne. It was formed by the construction of a major earth and rockfill embankment dam, known as Eppalock Dam, with a controlled chute spillway across the Campaspe and the Coliban rivers. The lake is situated between the regional population centres of Bendigo and Heathcote and serves as a major water storage facility for both places, as well as the Campaspe irrigation district. The lake also serves as a popular sports and recreational facility.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Upper Nepean Scheme</span>

The Upper Nepean Scheme is a series of dams and weirs in the catchments of the Cataract, Cordeaux, Avon and Nepean rivers of New South Wales, Australia. The scheme includes four dams and two weirs, and a gravity-fed canal system that feeds into a large storage reservoir to provide water to the Macarthur and Illawarra regions, the Wollondilly Shire, and metropolitan Sydney. The four dams and associated infrastructure are individually listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Hovell Dam</span> Dam in Hume, Victoria

The William Hovell Dam is a rock and earth-fill embankment dam with a flip bucket chute spillway across the King River, operated by Pacific Blue and located in the Hume region of Victoria, Australia. The purposes of the dam are for irrigation and the generation of hydroelectricity. The impounded reservoir is called Lake William Hovell.

The Nillahcootie Dam, a rock and earth-fill embankment dam with a unique Gothic arch-shaped crest spillway across the Broken River that is located near Mansfield, in the Alpine region of Victoria, Australia. The dam's purpose is for the supply of potable water and for irrigation. The impounded reservoir is called Lake Nillahcootie.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Irrigation in Australia</span>

Irrigation is a widespread practice required in many areas of Australia, the driest inhabited continent, to supplement low rainfall with water from other sources to assist in growing crops and pasture. Overuse or poor management of irrigation is held responsible by some for environmental problems such as soil salinity and loss of habitat for native flora and fauna.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cardinia Reservoir</span> Dam in Greater Melbourne, Victoria

Cardinia Reservoir is an Australian man-made water supply saddle dam reservoir. The 287,000 ML water store is located in Emerald–Clematis–Dewhurst in south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria. Construction started in May 1970 and was completed in 1973 at a cost of more than A$11.4 million. The dam that creates the impoundment is called the Cardinia Dam.

The Fairbairn Dam is an earth-filled embankment dam across the Nogoa River, located southwest of Emerald in Central Queensland, Australia. Constructed in 1972 for the primary purpose of irrigation, the impoundment created by the dam serves as one of the major potable water supplies for the region and assists with some flood mitigation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Gunn Dam</span> Dam in South East Queensland

The Bill Gunn Dam is an earth-fill embankment dam with an un-gated spillway located off-stream in Laidley Heights in the South East region of Queensland, Australia. The main purpose of the dam is for irrigation of the Lockyer Valley. The resultant reservoir is called Lake Dyer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Six Mile Creek Dam</span> Dam in South East Queensland

The Six Mile Creek Dam is a rock and earth-fill embankment dam with an un-gated spillway across the Six Mile Creek that is located in the South East region of Queensland, Australia. The main purposes of the dam are for potable water supply of the Sunshine Coast region and for recreation. The impounded reservoir is called Lake Macdonald, named in memory of former Noosa Shire Council Chairman Ian MacDonald.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shire of Waranga</span> Local government area in Victoria, Australia

The Shire of Waranga was a local government area about 165 kilometres (103 mi) north of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia. The shire covered an area of 1,644.19 square kilometres (634.8 sq mi), and existed from 1863 until 1994.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southedge Dam</span> Dam in Queensland, Australia

The Southedge Dam, also known as the Lake Mitchell Dam, is an earth filled embankment dam across the Mitchell River located in Southedge, in Far North Queensland, Australia. Opened in 1987 as an ornamental lake, the impoundment created by the dam is called Lake Mitchell and at full supply level has an active capacity of 129,000 megalitres.

The Kow Swamp, a freshwater lake and wetland, was formerly a swamp, that is now used for water storage. The lake is located in the Mallee region in north-central Victoria, Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glenmaggie Dam</span> Dam in Central Gippsland, Victoria

The Glenmaggie Dam is a concrete block-foundation gravity dam with 14 radial arm gates across the Macalister River, located near Maffra, Central Gippsland, in the Australian state of Victoria. The dam's purpose includes irrigation, the generation of hydro-electric power, water supply and conservation. The impounded reservoir is called Lake Glenmaggie.

The Buffalo River, a perennial river of the North-East Murray catchment of the Murray-Darling basin, is located in the Alpine region of Victoria, Australia. It flows from the eastern slopes of the Buffalo Range in the Australian Alps, joining with the Ovens River west of Myrtleford.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Register of Large Dams in Australia". Dams information. Australian National Committee on Large Dams. 2010. Archived from the original (Excel (requires download)) on 12 December 2013. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
  2. See pages 370-372, Donald Gunn and Alastair Gunn 'Scotland and Beyond; the Families of Donald Gunn (Tormsdale) and John Gunn (Dalnaha, Strathmore and Braehour).'
  3. "RUSHWORTH - WARANGA NORTH MINING DIVISION" (PDF) (PDF). Victorian Government . Retrieved 13 August 2009.
  4. "Waranga Basin: Recreation Guide" (PDF) (PDF). Goulburn–Murray Water. February 2012. Retrieved 20 October 2014.