Australasia |
Dartmouth anniversary Built in the 1970s, Dartmouth Dam is approaching
Above: Hydro Tasmania Graduate Mechanical Engineer Zali Steiner at Tarraleah Power Station during the Cambridge Workshop
Investment A multi-million-dollar upgrade of the spillway gates
at Meadowbank Dam has been recently completed by Hydro Tasmania. The works replaced the 20 x 4.2-tonne hydraulic cylinders with new lighter models from Europe and were carried out over two summers and. After consulting with the community, the upgrades were split into two stages to minimise disruption during peak holiday and irrigation periods. Works were also carried out with the water level as high as safely possible to lessen the impact on lake users.
“Doing the upgrades with the water level higher than usual meant we got a shower or two but we knew it was important for the community to be able to use the lake over summer,” said Hydro Tasmania Project Manager Andrew Rumsby. The newly upgraded crest gates have since seen
Above: A multi-million-dollar upgrade of the spillway gates at Meadowbank Dam has been recently completed by Hydro Tasmania
extreme rainfall and have performed well and as expected in such weather conditions. The works are part of Hydro Tasmania’s A$1.6 billion programme of upgrades to optimise and modernise its hydropower network over the next ten years. CEO Ian Brooksbank said the plan included major
refurbishment across ten power stations and five dams in order to extend operational life, and improve capacity, reliability and flexibility. “Our incredible hydro network has played a significant role in fuelling Tasmania’s economic growth but it can’t stand still in time,” he said. “We must invest in our infrastructure for a new era of Tasmanian hydropower that will help meet the state’s energy demands now and in the future.” Brooksbank said the capital works complemented
Above: Hydro Tasmania CEO Ian Brooksbank said the company must invest in its infrastructure for a new era of Tasmanian hydropower
plans to redevelop the Tarraleah Hydropower Scheme and to build pumped hydro at Lake Cethana, while major upgrades are underway at the 432MW Gordon and 360MW Poatina hydro power stations. “Works of this scale take years of engineering and logistical planning, especially when you consider they are occurring deep underground,” Brookbanks acknowledged. “A big shout out to the team at Gordon who just lifted the 173-tonne stator. This is the heaviest lift we do and it’s a rare event involving two cranes and millimetre-level precision.”
16 | December 2024 |
www.waterpowermagazine.com
45 years in operation. Operated by Goulburn– Murray Water (GMW) on behalf of the Murray– Darling Basin Authority (MDBA), its enduring role in Australia’s water management is described as being: “both testament to the engineering methods of the time and the collaborative efforts of the Australian Government and the governments of Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia in funding its construction”. The primary purpose of Dartmouth Dam is to conserve water during wetter periods as insurance against future drier times. Its management is governed by the rules of basin governments under the Murray–Darling Basin Agreement. The 180m high rock structure is the largest capacity dam in Victoria. At full capacity its reservoir can store 3856,000 megalitres. GMW Acting Operations Manager, Mark Muldeary, oversees day- to-day operations of the dam. It’s a role, he says, that is taken incredibly seriously and relies upon a strong partnership with the MDBA. With the impact of climate change and a drying
climate, Dartmouth Dam has never been more important as in dry seasons the storage supplements releases from Lake Hume and increases supplies to the River Murray system. The dam not only plays its main role in drought preservation but plays a critical one in managing floods. MDBA General Manager of Assets, Angus Paton, says it’s an asset of national significance, given its critical role in water security.
Basin Plan Review Andrew McConville, CEO of Murray Darling Basin
Authority, recently shared the Australian experience of water policy reform.
Known as the driest inhabited continent, when faced
with prolonged drought and competing demands for water in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Australia witnessed the decline of wetlands and river health in the basin. The largest and most complex river system in Australia, the Murray Darling basin spans more than one million square kilometres and crosses the borders of five out of eight states and territories. It is also Australia’s largest area for agricultural production, producing more than A$US20 billion worth of food and fibre every year, with its rivers and lakes supporting a unique habitat and rich biodiversity – critical to the survival of more than 120 waterbird species and 50 native fish species.
Good governance and collaboration were critical
to put the basin back on a sustainable footing and arrest the decline of biodiversity, McConville says. Established in 2012, the Murray–Darling Basin Plan was an “essential course correction” to bring the basin’s back from the threshold of historical overextraction and the compounding pressures of the millennium drought. Introduction of the Basin Plan was heavily contested though as it put a cap on water use and sought to make water available for the environment. Enshrined in national law, it is essentially an agreement between state and federal governments to manage the basin’s water with consideration of the country’s social, economic, cultural, and environmental outcomes.
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