Upper Nepean Scheme 3929950 180606436 2007-12-28T13:46:04Z Knows 1325678 Added two new images The '''Upper Nepean Scheme''' is a series of dams in the catchments of the [[Cataract River|Cataract]], [[Cordeaux River|Cordeaux]], [[Avon River, New South Wales|Avon]] and [[Nepean River|Nepean]] rivers of [[New South Wales]], [[Australia]]. The scheme includes four dams and supplies the Macarthur and [[Illawarra]] regions, the [[Wollondilly Shire]], and metropolitan [[Sydney]]. ==History== The Upper Nepean Scheme was completed in 1888. The Scheme was a significant feat of engineering a the time of construction, it worked by diverting water from weirs on the Cataract, Cordeaux, Avon and Nepean rivers to Prospect Reservoir via 64 [[kilometer]]s of tunnels, canals and aqueducts collectively known as the Upper Canal. Between 1907 and 1935 a dam was built on each of the rivers to increase the water supply for Sydney. The Scheme is managed by the [[Sydney Catchment Authority]]. Each dam includes a public picnic area. In total, the four dams hold 510,660 [[Litre|megalitres]] and can safely provide 353 megalitres/day. ==Cataract Dam== [[Image:CataractDam.JPG|thumb|Cataract Dam Wall]] Cataract Dam is a straight dam with an unlined side spillway extending from the left abutment. It is 56 [[meter]]s tall; 247 m long; and it holds 94,300 megalitres of water. Cataract Dam was the first dam built in the Upper Nepean Scheme, it was also first dam in Australia to use pre-cast moulded concrete blocks for the upstream face of the dam. Construction began in 1902 and was completed in 1907, and the spillway was widened in 1915. [[Ernest Macartney de Burgh]] was the supervising engineer for the project from 1904<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A080285b.htm |title=De Burgh, Ernest Macartney (1863 - 1929) |accessdate=2007-04-22 |author=J. M. Antill |work=[[Australian Dictionary of Biography]], Volume 8 |publisher=[[Melbourne University Press|MUP]] |year=1981 |pages=p. 266}}</ref>. Poet [[Banjo Patterson]] wrote a satirical ballad "The Dam that Keele Built" about the politics behind the construction of Cataract Dam. ==Cordeaux Dam== [[Image:CordeauxDam.JPG|thumb|Cordeaux Dam #3 Wall]] Cordeaux Dam is a curved dam with an unlined side spillway on the left abutment. It is 57 m height; 405 m long; and holds 93,640 megalitres. Construction began in 1918 and was completed in 1926. ==Avon Dam== Avon Dam is a curved dam, it is 72 m tall; 223 m long; and it holds 214,360 megalitres. It has the largest capacity of all the dams in the Scheme. Construction began in 1921 and was completed in 1927. All materials for construction were transported on a specially built road, all the other dams in the scheme used rail trasport. ==Nepean Dam== [[Image:NepeanDam.JPG|thumb|Nepean Dam Wall]] Nepean Dam is a curved dam, it is 82 m tall; 216 m long; and holds 81,360 megalitres. Construction on the Dam began in 1926, construction was delayed for two years during the Depression, it was finally completed in 1935. Additional work was carried out on the spillway between 1943 and 1947 to prevent scouring of the dam foundations. ==References== *Sydney Catchment Authority. [http://www.sca.nsw.gov.au/dams/upper_nepean_dams.html Upper Nepean Dams] *The Water Supply, Sewerage and Drainage of Sydney, W.V.Aird, 1961, MWS&DB. <references/> [[Category:Geography of Sydney]] [[Category:Reservoirs and dams in Australia]]