Helena River
| Helena River | ||
 Helena River at Mundaring Weir. The building on the right is the 1st pumping station on the Golden Pipeline |
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| Data | ||
| location | Western Australia , Australia | |
| River system | Swan River | |
| Drain over | Swan River → Indian Ocean | |
| source | Pony Hill (Mundaring State Forest) 31 ° 57 ′ 25 ″ S , 116 ° 36 ′ 1 ″ E |
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| Source height | 300 m | |
| muzzle |
Swan River near Guildford ( Perth ) Coordinates: 31 ° 54 ′ 16 " S , 115 ° 57 ′ 48" E 31 ° 54 ′ 16 " S , 115 ° 57 ′ 48" E |
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| Mouth height | 3 m | |
| Height difference | 297 m | |
| Bottom slope | 3.8 ‰ | |
| length | 78.1 km | |
| Left tributaries | Wundabiniring Brook, Wariin Brook, Hancock Brook, Helena Brook, Chinaman Gully, Manns Gully, Bourkes Gully | |
| Right tributaries | Hay Creek, Darkin River , Piesse Gully | |
| Reservoirs flowed through | Lake CYO'Connor , Pipehead Reservoir | |
| Big cities | Perth | |
| Small towns | Mundaring Weir | |
The Helena River is a river in the southwest of the Australian state of Western Australia .
geography
The river has its source on Pony Hill in the Mundaring State Forest and flows west from there into Lake CYO'Connor , a reservoir. Then it flows further west to the Darling Range , which it breaks through between Gooseberry Hill and Greenmount - both suburbs of Perth . At Guildford it flows into the Swan River .
Tributaries with mouth heights
Many tributaries of the Helena River have no name because they are too small and do not carry water all year round. The following watercourses are named:
- Wound cabinet ring Brook - 250 m
- Wariin Brook - 178 m
- Hancock Brook - 169 m
- Helena Brook - 165 m
- Chinaman Gully - 149 m
- Mann's Gully - 136 m
- Hay Creek - 136 m
- Darkin River - 134 m
- Bourkes Gully - 110 m
- Piesse Gully - 45 m
Reservoirs
The river is dammed in two places. Better known is Lake CYO'Connor (formerly Helena Reservoir), which was named after the hydraulic engineer Charles O'Connor , who built the Golden Pipeline , to which this reservoir also belongs. The associated dam is called Mundaring Weir .
Since the construction of the lower Pipehead Reservoir in the 1970s, there has been far less flooding on the lower reaches of East Guildford and Guildford . Most of the water from the Pipehead Reservoir is pumped back into Lake CYO'Connor. As a result, there are restrictions in place to ensure water quality in the Pipehead Reservoir, although there are large suburbs of Perth immediately to the north.
River crossings
The construction and strength of the bridges had to be adapted to the higher water level at high tide until the construction of the Pipehead Reservoir. There were major floods at the beginning and middle of the 20th century.
The most important bridges lie
- below Mundaring Weir
- in the village of Helena Valley
- in Bellevue (Reid Highway)
- in Midland
- in Woodbridge
- in East Guildford
- in Guildford
ecology
In the hill country, the Helena River flows mainly through state forests and state protected areas. This has had a beneficial effect on parts of the catchment area, as these areas represent an important buffer between the urban settlements of Mundaring and Kalamunda . The rich vegetation of the river valley is considered ecologically important.
In Darlington and Helena Valley , the river banks are settled and used for agriculture before the river flows into the coastal plain.
At Bellevue and Midland earlier environmentally hazardous industries were on the river, the repair work of the Western Australian Government Railways (WAGR) and a cattle market in Midland.
See also
swell
- Ian Elliot: Mundaring - A History of the Shire , 2nd Edition, Mundaring Shire, Mundaring 1983, ISBN 0-9592776-0-9 .
- Nicole Siemon: Foreshore assessment in the Helena River catchment . Water and Rivers Commission. East Perth WA (2001). Water resource management series 1326-6934; Report No. WRM 20. ISBN 0730974960
- Ken Spillman: Life was meant to be here: community and local government in the Shire of Mundaring . Mundaring Shire, Mundaring 2003, ISBN 0-9592776-3-3 .
