Commenced in 1964, completed in 1968, and upgraded in 2010, the Blowering Dam is a major ungated dam, located approximately 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) south of Tumut. The dam was built by consortium including Morrison, Knudsen, Utah and Mcdonald on behalf of the New South Wales Department of Land and Water Conservation for town water supplies, river flows and domestic requirements, irrigated agriculture, industry, flood mitigation and environmental flows.[1][2][3] Together with releases from Burrinjuck Dam, on the Murrumbidgee River, Blowering Dam also provides a regulated flow of water for the Coleambally and Murrumbidgee Irrigation Areas.[1]
The dam wall constructed with 8,563 cubic metres (302,400 cu ft) of rock fill with clay core is 112 metres (367 ft) high and 808 metres (2,651 ft) long. The maximum water depth is 91 metres (299 ft) and at 100% capacity the dam wall holds back 1,628,000 megalitres (57,500×10^6 cu ft) of water at 379 metres (1,243 ft) AHD. The surface area of the Blowering Reservoir is 44.6 square kilometres (17.2 sq mi) and the catchment area is 1,606 square kilometres (620 sq mi). The uncontrolled concrete chute spillway is capable of discharging 2,350 cubic metres per second (83,000 cu ft/s).[1][2][3]
A A$33 million upgrade of facilities was completed between 2009 and 2012, and involved the construction of a parapet wall on top of the dam wall crest and raising the spillway training walls. The addition of the parapet wall increased the crest height to 114 metres (374 ft). Storage capacity and water releases from the dam were not altered by the upgrade.[4][5]
The dam houses a hydroelectricpower station and has one turbinegenerator, with a generating capacity of 80 megawatts (110,000 hp) of electricity; with a net generation of 260 gigawatt-hours (940 TJ) per annum. The power station has 86.6 metres (284 ft) rated hydraulic head.
Recreation
In 1978, Ken Warby set the water speed record of 511 kilometres per hour (318 mph) on Blowering Reservoir[6] - a record that still stands.
Gallery
Blowering Dam wall.
Model of Spirit of Australia in which Ken Warby set the world water speed record in 1978 on the dam.
View of Blowering Reservoir from Blowering Dam, 2012.
^ abc"Blowering Dam"(PDF). State Water Corporation. 2009. Archived from the original(PDF brochure) on 13 September 2009. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
^ ab"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 22 April 2013.
^ ab"Blowering Dam". Water delivery: dams. State Water Corporation. Archived from the original on 10 April 2013. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
^"Blowering upgrade". Projects: dam safety upgrades. State Water Corporation. 2012. Archived from the original on 13 September 2009. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
