Thomson River Dam

"'Infobox_Dam
dam_name = Thomson River Dam
reservoir = Lake Thomson
locale = Gippsland, Victoria
(near Beardmore)
maint = Melbourne Water
length = 590 m
height = 165 m
began = 1976
open = May 1983
reservoir_capacity = 1,068,000 megalitres
reservoir_catchment = 487 km²
reservoir_surface = 22.30 km²

The Thomson Dam is located about 130 km east of Melbourne in Gippsland near the former township of Beardmore and the Baw Baw National Park.

Despite opposition from conservationists and farmers, plans for the dam were originally approved in late December 1975 to provide Melbourne with drought security. Early work in the early 1970s saw construction of a 19 km long tunnel through the Great Dividing Range to allow water from the Thomson River to flow into the Upper Yarra Reservoir. Work on the dam itself commenced in 1976 and the dam wall was ready to contain water by 1983.

The tunnel, which is located at the northern end of the reservoir, allows water to be transferred west to Upper Yarra Reservoir and then onto Silvan Reservoir for distribution as drinking water in Melbourne.

In recent years, drought has resulted in depletion of much of the reservoir's water. As at 30th April 2007, the volume was at 189,175 megalitres (17.7% full), but has since increased to 297,802 megalitres (27.9% full) as of the 21st of December, 2007. As of the 30th of September, 2008 the dam contained 220,386 megalitres (20.6% full). The dam was last full and spilling in October 1996.The Thomson River Dam is managed by Melbourne Water. [ [http://www.melbournewater.com.au Melbourne Water ] ]

References

External links

* [http://www.melbournewater.com.au/content/water/water_supply_catchments/thomson_reservoir.asp Thomson Reservoir]
* [http://www.melbournewater.com.au/content/publications/fact_sheets/water/thomson_reservoir.asp Fact Sheet]
* [http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/06/04/1054700272568.html Lowdown on the Thomson Reservoir] - The Age, 5 June 2003
* [http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/crunch-time-today-for-thomson-dam/2006/12/13/1165685753229.html Crunch time today for Thomson Dam] - The Age, 13 December 2006
* [http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/03/09/1173166985969.html?from=top5 'Drought-proof' dam hits record low level]