Wyangala Dam Raising

A major augmentation of Wyangala Dam will deliver improved water security and flood mitigation benefits for the Lachlan Valley.

Background

WaterNSW has released a 20-year infrastructure options study for rural river valleys which addresses future challenges in operating regulated river systems. The objective of the study was to guide water infrastructure investment by all levels of government.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison and NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian have announced a jointly funded package of around $1bn for the planning and delivery of three new or augmented dams in NSW. This includes the raising of Wyangala Dam, near Cowra in the Lachlan Valley region of NSW.

The Lachlan regulated river system supplies water for irrigation, stock and domestic, town water supply and industrial purposes in the valley.

The Lachlan Valley is believed to have some of the poorest levels of water security and reliability in NSW in terms of regulated/licensed irrigation and urban water supply. The region was dramatically impacted by both the Millenium and the current droughts.

Raising Wyangala Dam contributes substantially to improving water and drought security, and flood management capability for the Lachlan Valley.

Project details

• Raising of the embankment and downstream rockfill to add an additional 650GL of storage
• Raising the spillway and intake towers of the dam by 10m
• Work to ensure safe access and maintenance on the crest and downstream areas

Key benefits

• Modelling predicts an additional 21.05GL per annum estimated yield for general security licence use
• Will provide significant improvement in drought security, flood management and water reliability
• Will increase capability to manage high inflow / flood events

Estimated project timeline

• 2020 Community engagement commences
• Year One Concept Design & Environmental Assessment
• End of Year Two Project Determination
• Year Three Detailed Design and Pre-Construction enabling work
• From Year Four Dam construction

Construction is expected to take 2-4 years, dependent on design.

Contact Details

For more information about the project please email projects@waternsw.com.au