Country Australia Opening date 1965 Impounds Snowy River Length 146 m Surface area 3.27 km² Owner Snowy Hydro | Status Operational Type of dam Gravity dam Height 49 m Catchment area 221 km² Create Island Bend Pondage | |
Location Snowy Mountains, New South Wales Similar Geehi Dam, Guthega Dam, Jounama Dam, Tumut Pond Dam, Tantangara Dam | ||
Snowy river locked gate to island bend dam
Island Bend Dam is a major ungated concrete gravity dam with a controlled spillway across the Snowy River in the Snowy Mountains region of New South Wales, Australia. The dam's main purpose is for the generation of hydro-power and is one of the sixteen major dams that comprise the Snowy Mountains Scheme, a vast hydroelectricity and irrigation complex constructed in south-east Australia between 1949 and 1974 and now run by Snowy Hydro.
Contents
The impounded reservoir is called the Island Bend Pondage.
Location and features
Completed in 1965, Island Bend Dam is a major dam, located within the Snowy Monaro Regional Council, adjacent to the locality of Island Bend. The dam was constructed by Utah Construction and Engineering Pty Limited based on engineering plans developed under contract from the Snowy Mountains Hydroelectric Authority.
The dam wall comprising 60,400 cubic metres (2,130,000 cu ft) of concrete is 49 metres (161 ft) high and 146 metres (479 ft) long. At 100% capacity the dam wall holds back 3,084 megalitres (108.9×106 cu ft) of water. The surface area of Island Bend Pondage is 327 hectares (810 acres) and the catchment area is 221 square kilometres (85 sq mi). The controlled spillway is capable of discharging 2,832 cubic metres per second (100,000 cu ft/s).