Shoalhaven water supply transfers during drought - 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 which supplies Sydney, Blue Mountains and the Illawarra during drought. It also provides a secure source of water to the Shoalhaven and Southern Highlands communities.
During a drought, 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.
Water pumped from the Shoalhaven system last week
| Date |
Estimated transfer volume |
|---|---|
| 8 Aug 2008 |
397 |
| 9 Aug 2008 |
392 |
| 10 Aug 2008 |
394 |
| 11 Aug 2008 |
394 |
| 12 Aug 2008 |
392 |
| 13 Aug 2008 |
386 |
| 14 Aug 2008 |
394 |
|
Estimated weekly transfer volume (ML)* |
2 749 |
|
Estimated cumulative transfer volume |
18 884 |
|
Total transfer volume for the year to 30 June 2008 (ML) |
199 190 |
|
Total transfer volume for the year to 30 June 2007 (ML) |
175 115 |
|
Total transfer volume for the year to 30 June 2006 (ML) |
150 475 |
* Note: Transfer volumes are reconciled each month based on actual pumping hours as advised by Eraring Energy.
Water planned to be pumped from Shoalhaven system next week*
|
Date |
Amount of water transferred in megalitres (ML) |
|---|---|
|
15 Aug 2008 |
400 |
|
16 Aug 2008 |
400 |
|
17 Aug 2008 |
400 |
|
18 Aug 2008 |
400 |
|
19 Aug 2008 |
400 |
|
20 Aug 2008 |
400 |
|
21 Aug 2008 |
400 |
*Note: Various factors contribute to changes in the schedule for water transfers. The table provided is therefore a guide only.
Some of the factors that could result in this schedule changing over the week include:
- rainfall
- available water in Tallowa Dam
- water quality
- planned and unplanned infrastructure outages
- access requirements for construction activity at Tallowa Dam
- available room in Fitzroy Falls and Wingecarribee reservoirs to store the water pumped from Tallowa Dam
- any flooding that may occur along Wingecarribee and Wollondilly rivers during high rainfall
- restriction in flows to allow access to adjacent property owners along Wingecarribee River
- energy used to pump the water, ie. off-peak and shoulder pumping.
