Is the Warragamba Dam spillway open?
Is the Warragamba Dam spillway open?
A few minutes drive from the dam through the Warragamba township, the Eighteenth Street Lookout provides a view of the auxiliary spillway and a distant view of Warragamba Dam wall. Open daily from 10am to 5pm.
Are they still releasing water from Warragamba Dam?
Warragamba Dam spillway is currently releasing water at a rate of 450 gigalitres per day (GL/day) and that rate could increase as inflows to the dam storage continue to rise.
What percentage does Warragamba Dam release?
Storage, rainfall and environmental releases
| Storage (recorded date) | Storage Capacity (ML) | Percent Full % |
|---|---|---|
| Warragamba Dam Monday 22 November | 2,027,000 | 99.0 |
| Woronora Dam Monday 22 November | 71,790 | 76.3 |
| Avon Dam Monday 22 November | 146,700 | 90.1 |
| Cataract Dam Monday 22 November | 97,190 | 60.0 |
Does Warragamba Dam have floodgates?
Warragamba Dam’s existing crest gates and central spillway manage normal discharge of floodwaters up to around a 1:15,500 AEP flood event at which point the auxiliary spillway starts to support the dams discharge capabilities. .
Can you swim in Warragamba Dam?
Entry is not allowed to the land along the Warragamba Pipelines and Upper Canal, and the land at Warragamba protecting the water supply infrastructure. Permitted activities in Special Areas – restricted access include walking, camping, fishing, swimming and non-powered boating.
When was Warragamba Dam last full?
On 2 March 2012, it overflowed for the first time in fourteen years. It overflowed again in 2016 and in March 2021.
Where does Warragamba Dam spill to?
This water flows down the Warragamba River into the Hawkesbury-Nepean River and eventually enters the sea at Broken Bay. An auxiliary spillway was completed in 2002 to protect the dam from extreme floods.
How much did Warragamba Dam cost?
That assumed the project would cost $690 million. But documents released under FOI laws suggest the construction could cost as much as $1.6 billion. And the leaked draft EIS documents show compensation for environmental damage could add nearly another $3 billion.
At what level do they open Warragamba Dam?
0.3 to -1m
WaterNSW only operates the dam at the required -0.3 to -1m of Full Supply Level (FSL) when full. Small releases are made at 100% to maintain this level and avoid the main radial gates repeatedly opening and closing due to small increase in storage.
What happens when a dam is opened?
When a dam is opened, the amount of water flowing out of it seems huge. Flows similar to those being released from Jindabyne and Tantangara dams would have been normal before damming and our native fauna is well adapted to these conditions.
How does Warragamba Dam fill up?
Water from the Coxs and Wollondilly rivers flows to Warragamba Dam, one of the world’s largest domestic water supplies. Water flows by gravity through two pipelines, 27km to Prospect water filtration plant, which supplies 75% of Sydney. The Warragamba system can be topped up by water from the Shoalhaven system.
How do you protect catchments?
Weeds and pests – use organic herbicides and pesticides for control. Trees and shrubs – plant or retain native trees and shrubs to help prevent soil erosion. Riverbanks – protect plants on the banks of streams and rivers to provide a buffer against pollution.
When was the auxiliary spillway at Warragamba Dam completed?
In 2002 the auxiliary spillway was completed, which sits on the right abutment. Additional upgrade works on the spillway gates have been carried out subsequently between 2006 and 2011 to improve the reliability of gate operations to allow greater flow to safely pass through the gates during extreme flood events.
Is the Warragamba Dam a concrete gravity dam?
Yes. Warragamba Dam is a large concrete gravity dam 142 metres high. Raising a dam in the way proposed for Warragamba Dam has been completed successfully and safely for other large concrete gravity dams internationally.
What was the chance of a flood at Warragamba?
Warragamba Dam was originally designed and built to withstand floods with an estimated 1 in 1,000 chance of occurring in any one year, i.e. a 1:1,000 Annual Exceedance Probability (AEP), estimated at the time of dam design and construction. For context, the largest recorded flood in the Hawkesbury-Nepean River in 1867 had an estimated 1:100 AEP.
Is the Warragamba Dam in the Blue Mountains?
Just a one hour drive from Sydney’s CBD, the dam is a popular place to visit and picnic. Warragamba Dam supplies water to more than 5 million people living in Sydney and the lower Blue Mountains. Just a one hour drive from Sydney’s CBD, the dam is a popular place to visit and picnic.
