Glenmaggie Dam


The Glenmaggie Dam is a concrete block foundation gravity dam with 14 radial arm gates across the Macalister River, located near, Central Gippsland, in the Australian state of Victoria. The dam's purpose includes irrigation, the generation of hydro-electric power, water supply and conservation. The impounded reservoir is called Lake Glenmaggie.

Location and features

Construction of the Glenmaggie Dam commenced in 1919, was completed in 1927 and constructed by the State Rivers and Water Supply Commission of Victoria. When full following its construction, the dam held and provided irrigation to approximately of farming land in the Central Gippsland region; via a gravity irrigation systems to properties in the Macalister Irrigation District, near the towns of,, and Sale. The Macalister Irrigation District covers about around the Macalister and Thomson rivers, extending from Lake Glenmaggie to Sale. It comprises two areas: the Maffra-Sale Irrigation Area to the north of the Thomson River and the Central Gippsland Area to the south.
The Glenmaggie Dam wall, which creates the Glenmaggie Lake, is a mass concrete overfall dam with irrigation outlets on both sides of the river serving irrigation channels. The central portion is an overfall spillway. The dam wall was raised in 1958 by the addition of gates; stabilised using ground anchors in 1989; and upgraded in 2003 to enable it to withstand overtopping.
In 1994, a hydro-electric power station with two Francis turbine-generators was commissioned, with a capacity of and generating per annum.

Flooding

In June 2007, the Macalister catchment experienced record flooding. Inflows into Lake Glenmaggie peaked in excess of per day and releases peaked at per day. A second flood occurred in November 2007 with inflows into Lake Glenmaggie peaking at per day and releases peaking at per day. Repairs totaling around 4 million were completed after the June and November 2007 floods.