Shoalhaven transfers

Shoalhaven water supply transfers - Tallowa Dam

Tallowa Dam is on the Shoalhaven and Kangaroo rivers, 35 kilometres from Nowra.

Built in the 1970s, Tallowa Dam is part of the Shoalhaven system and is an integral part of the water supply for 4.5 million people in Sydney, Blue Mountains, Illawarra, the Southern Highlands and Shoalhaven.

Under the Metropolitan Water Plan 2010, water can be pumped from Tallowa Dam to boost supplies in the lllawarra and Sydney regions when Sydney’s dam storage levels falls to below 75 percent. The water supply transfers continue until total storage rises above 80 percent. Under the rules in the Metropolitan Water Plan, the Sydney Catchment Authority (SCA) only accesses the top one metre of water in Tallowa Dam, except in drought emergencies.

Water is pumped from Tallowa Dam to Wingecarribee Reservoir in the Southern Highlands. From there it flows down the Wollondilly River to Sydney's Warragamba Dam, or the Nepean River to Nepean and Avon dams, which supply the people of the Illawarra with water.

Shoalhaven water supply transfers stopped

On Friday 9 December 2011, total storage figures rose to 80.0 percent. In accordance with the operating rules outlined in the 2010 Metropolitan Water Plan, the SCA has stopped pumping from Tallowa Dam. Pumping will not start again until total storage levels fall to 75 percent.