Shoalhaven system
The Shoalhaven System is a system of three reservoirs and two hydropower plants in the east of the Australian state of New South Wales . It is used both to collect drinking water for the greater Sydney area and to generate electrical energy from hydropower. It was created as a joint project of the Electricity Commission of New South Wales and the New South Wales Metropolitan Water, Sewerage an Drainage Board . After completion, the operation of the plants was handed over to Eraring Energy and the Sydney Catchment Authority .
Water supply
The system's water is collected in three reservoirs. Lake Yarrunga, the Fitzroy Reservoir and the Wingecarribee Reservoir.
Lake Yarrunga
Main article: Lake Yarrunga
With 75 million cubic meters of storage space, Lake Yarrunga is the largest reservoir in the system. It was created in 1976 in the valleys of the Shoalhaven River and the Kangaroo River through the construction of the '' Tallowa Dam ''. When the traffic jam destination is reached, its level is 176 m.
Fitzroy Falls Reservoir
Main article: Fitzroy Falls Reservoir
The Fitzroy Falls Reservoir with 9.95 m³ of storage space was completed in 1974. It is fed by '' Yarrunga Creek '' and is connected to both Wingecarribee Reservoir and Lake Yarrunga by pipes, channels and tunnels. When the traffic jam destination is reached, its level is 668 m.
Wingecarribee Reservoir
Main article: Wingecarribee Reservoir
The 24.13 million m³ Wingecarribee Reservoir was also completed in 1974 and is fed by the Wingecarribee Swamp , on the edge of which it lies. The Wingecarribee River forms below its dam . When the target is reached, the level of the Wingecarribee Reservoir is also 668 m.
Generation of electrical energy
The Shoalhaven System has two pumped storage power plants in Kangaroo Valley (above Lake Yarrunga on the Kangaroo River) and Bendeela (on the north shore of Lake Yarrunga). The latter pumps water from Lake Yarrunga into the Fitzroy Falls Reservoir via the Bendeela Pondage . From there the water can be fed back into Lake Yarrunga via the turbines. The system has a maximum output of 240 MW.
Impact on the environment
The Shoalhaven River and its main tributary, the Kangaroo River, were once known as good fishing waters for the Australian perch. Unfortunately, the Tallowa dam represents an almost insurmountable barrier for migratory fish and thus prevents the perch from accessing over 80% of its former habitat. The introduction of perch fry into Lake Yarrunga also hardly improved the situation. A fish ladder at the Tallowa Dam was discussed for 20 years, but has not yet been implemented. A fish lift has been working at the dam since August 2009. Lake Yarrunga also suffered from the forbidden introduction of very harmful, exotic carp, which are found in large numbers in the lake today.
Gallery images
Tallowa dam
Fitzroy Falls Reservoir
Wingecarribee Reservoir
swell
- PC Gehrke, DM Gilligan & M. Barwick: Changes in fish communities of the Shoalhaven River 20 years after construction of Tallowa Dam, Australia . River Research and Applications. Volume 18: (2002). Pp. 265-286.
- Shoalhaven System . Sydney Catchment Authority
- Shoalhaven Pumping Stations . Eraring Energy
- James Woodford: What's scaly and goes up and down? A fish in an elevator . Sydney Morning Herald. Sydney (August 24, 2009)