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For other uses, see Wivenhoe (disambiguation).
Wivenhoe Dam
Location Queensland
Coordinates 27.3941° S 152.608° E
Lake type reservoir
Primary inflows Brisbane River
Primary outflows Brisbane River
Catchment area 5554 km²
Basin countries Australia
Surface area 109. Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern corner of the mainland continent A lake (from Latin lacus) is a Terrain feature (or Physical feature) a body of Liquid on the surface of a world that is localized to the A reservoir is most broadly a place or hollow vessel where Fluid is kept in Reserve, for later use In Hydrology, the inflow of a Body of water is the source of the Water in the body of water The Brisbane River is situated in southeast Queensland, Australia, and flows through the city of Brisbane, before emptying into Moreton In Hydrology, the discharge or outflow of a River is the volume of Water transported by it in a certain amount of time The Brisbane River is situated in southeast Queensland, Australia, and flows through the city of Brisbane, before emptying into Moreton A drainage basin is an extent of Land where Water from Rain or Snow melt drains downhill into a body of water such as a River, A drainage basin is an extent of Land where Water from Rain or Snow melt drains downhill into a body of water such as a River, 4 km²
Max. depth 67 m
Water volume 1,160,000 ML
Shore length1 462 km
Surface elevation 67. 00 m
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure.

Wivenhoe Dam is a dam built across the Brisbane River that creates the artificial Lake Wivenhoe. A dam is a barrier that divides waters. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water while other structures such as Floodgates, Levees The Brisbane River is situated in southeast Queensland, Australia, and flows through the city of Brisbane, before emptying into Moreton The dam is located about 80 kilometres by road from the centre of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Brisbane ( is the state capital of Queensland. Brisbane is the third most populous city in Australia and the most populous city of Queensland Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern corner of the mainland continent For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics.

The dam holds a volume of water two and a half times the water in Sydney Harbour. Port Jackson, containing Sydney Harbour, is the natural harbour of Sydney Australia The primary purpose of the dam is to provide a water storage for south-eastern Queensland as well as extra storage for mitigation of periodic flooding of the Brisbane River. The lake also forms part of the water storages for the Wivenhoe Power Station. The Wivenhoe Dam has been built across the Brisbane River about 80 kilometres (50 miles by road from the centre of Brisbane, the capital of the state of Queensland

Contents

Purpose

The dam was designed as a multifunctional facility and built in the late 1970s - early 1980s by a consortium of construction companies including Thiess. A dam is a barrier that divides waters. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water while other structures such as Floodgates, Levees

Its primary function is to provide a safe water supply to the people of Brisbane and adjacent regions. Water of sufficient quality to serve as drinking water is termed potable water whether it is used for drinking or not Additionally, Wivenhoe Dam serves as;

Fishing

A Stocked Impoundment Permit is required to fish in the dam[1].

Key facts

Wivenhoe Dam consists of an earth and rock embankment 2. An embankment dam is a massive artificial water barrier. It is typically created by the emplacement and compaction of a complex semi- plastic mound of various 3 kilometres long and 50 metres high. It has a concrete spillway section on which five steel crest gates are installed. Concrete is a construction material composed of Cement (commonly Portland cement) as well as other cementitious materials such as Fly ash and Slag A spillway is a structure used to provide for the controlled release of flows from a Dam or Levee into a downstream area typically being the river that was dammed The gates, at 12 metres wide and 16. 6 metres high, are amongst the largest of their type in the world.

The dam has a total storage capacity of 2. 61 km³, of which 1. 16 km³ is used for urban water storage. 200 properties were acquired to provide the 337. 50 square kilometres of land required for the dam. The catchment area is 5,554 square kilometres.

The dam holds twice as much water as Sydney Harbour and is about seven times bigger than Hinze Dam at the Gold Coast. Port Jackson, containing Sydney Harbour, is the natural harbour of Sydney Australia The Hinze Dam supplies most of the Water provided to Gold Coast City in Queensland, Australia. This article is about the Australian city Gold Coast For other uses see Gold Coast. Wivenhoe Dam does contribute to the Gold Coast's water supply.

Drought

As of 2007, the reservoir has diminished in the midst of Queensland's severe drought, and the original path of the Brisbane River has become increasingly visible. Pockets of isolated water have begun to form and an island has revealed itself towards the lake's centre.

A previously unseen sandbar emerged from the waters of the lake towards the end of 2006. A shoal or sandbar (also called sandbank) is a somewhat Linear Landform within or extending into a body of Water, It presented a high risk that the power stations' water supply could prematuraly cease the supply of water from the Caboonbah pumping station. Enough water now has to be released from Somerset Dam to ensure that the pumping station can draw water for Tarong North Power Station. Tarong North will be unable to take any water from the dam if storage levels drop below 14. 2%.

As of June 4, 2008, the combined storage levels in Wivenhoe, Somerset and North Pine Dams have risen pretty well after early winter rain sitting at a promising 39. 06%, still short of the 40 per cent level needed to relax water restrictions. [2]

Statistics

Source

Construction

Wivenhoe was initially investigated for a dam site in the 1890s and again in 1933[3]. Further investigations into a dam began in the mid 1960s. In November 1971, Government approval was given to proceed with construction. Acquisition of lands of the submerged portion of the dam began in March 1973. In 1976 the Government gave approval to proceed with construction of the pumped storage hydro-electric scheme. Total cost for the hydro-electric project was $450 million.

See also

References

  1. ^ Fishing in Queensland dams? You may need a permit.
  2. ^ Robinson, Georgina. Reservoirs and dams in Australia is a link page for any reservoir or Dam in Australia. The Western Corridor Recycled Water Project is Australia's largest Recycled water project located in South East Queensland. Dam levels still too low to relax Level 6 (Web article). Brisbane Times. Brisbane Times is an Internet -based news site for Brisbane and Queensland, Australia. Retrieved on 2008-02-13. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 1258 - Baghdad falls to the Mongols, and the Abbasid Caliphate is destroyed
  3. ^ Queensland Environmental Protection Agency, Heritage Trails of the Great South East, State of Queensland, 2000 ISBN 0-7345-1008-X

External links

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