Splityard Creek Dam

Dam in South East Queensland

27°22′16″S 152°38′13″E / 27.37111°S 152.63694°E / -27.37111; 152.63694PurposeHydroelectricity^[1]StatusOperationalConstruction began1977 (1977)Opening date1980 (1980)Dam and spillwaysType of damEmbankment damImpoundsPryde CreekHeight76 m (249 ft)^[1]Length1,140 m (3,740 ft)^[1]Dam volume69×10^³ m³ (2.4×10^⁶ cu ft)^[1]Spillway typeUncontrolledSpillway capacity570 m³/s (20,000 cu ft/s)^[1]ReservoirTotal capacity28,700 ML (6,300×10^⁶ imp gal; 7,600×10^⁶ US gal)^[1]Catchment area3.8 km² (1.5 sq mi)^[1]Surface area105 ha (260 acres)^[1]Maximum width294 m (965 ft)Wivenhoe Power StationOperator(s)CS EnergyCommission date1984 (1984)TypePumped-storageTurbines2Installed capacity500 megawatts (670,000 hp)Website
Wivenhoe Power Station

The Splityard Creek Dam is a rock and earth-fill embankment dam with an un-gated spillway across the Pryde Creek that is located in the South East region of Queensland, Australia. The sole purpose of the dam is for the generation of hydroelectricity.^[1] The impounded reservoir is called the Splityard Creek Reservoir.

Location and features

The dam is located 30 kilometres (19 mi) northwest of Ipswich in the Somerset Region and forms the upper reservoir for the Wivenhoe Power Station.

Construction commenced in 1977 and was completed in 1980 by contractors Thiess Brothers and John Holland.^[2] The rock and earthfill dam structure is 76 metres (249 ft) high and 1,140 metres (3,740 ft) long. The 3,371-thousand-cubic-metre (119.0×10^⁶ cu ft) dam wall holds back the 28,600-megalitre (6,300×10^⁶ imp gal; 7,600×10^⁶ US gal) reservoir when at full capacity. From a catchment area of 3.8 square kilometres (1.5 sq mi), the dam creates a reservoir with a surface area of 102 hectares (250 acres). The uncontrolled un-gated spillway has a discharge capacity of 570 cubic metres per second (20,000 cu ft/s).^[1] The asset was transferred to CleanCo Queensland in October 2019.

Power station

Owned by CleanCo Queensland and operated by CS Energy, Wivenhoe Power Station is located on the eastern side of Wivenhoe Dam, north west of Brisbane. The station, which began commercial operation in 1984, was Queensland's first pumped-storage hydro-electric plant. It is operated remotely from an operating centre used to manage the Queensland electricity grid.^[3]

The dam's water capacity is enough for the power station to run at full load for approximately ten hours. Using both pumps, this water can be replaced in about 14 hours. The pumped storage power station consists of two circular concrete silos, each of about 32 metres (105 ft) internal diameter. Each of the silos houses a 250 megawatts (340,000 hp) turbine generator and pump set, giving a total capacity of 500 megawatts (670,000 hp).^[3]

Recreation

Public access including swimming is banned from the dam due to strong currents and submerged hazards.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j "Register of Large Dams in Australia". Dams information. Australian National Committee on Large Dams. 2010. Archived from the original (Excel (requires download)) on 12 December 2013. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
^ "Wivenhoe Power Station: Official Opening" (PDF). Queensland Flood Commission. Retrieved 4 January 2019.
^ ^a ^b "Wivenhoe Dam". Seqwater. Retrieved 6 December 2012.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Splityard Creek Dam.

CS Energy Archived 18 June 2012 at the Wayback Machine

Water supply in Queensland, Australia

Dams and reservoirs by region

South East Queensland	Atkinson Baroon Pocket Biggera Creek Bill Gunn Bromelton Cedar Grove Weir Lake Clarendon Enoggera Ewen Maddock Gold Creek Hinze Lake Manchester Leslie Harrison Little Nerang Maroon Moogerah Mount Crosby Weir North Pine Poona Sideling Creek Six Mile Creek Somerset Splityard Creek Wappa Wivenhoe Wyaralong
Darling Downs	Connolly Cooby Coolmunda Cressbrook Glenlyon Leslie Perseverance
South West Queensland	E.J. Beardmore Neil Turner Weir
Wide Bay–Burnett	Ben Anderson Barrage Bjelke-Petersen Boobir Boondooma Borumba Cania Cedar Pocket Cooloolabin Fred Haigh Gordonbrook Lake Gregory Lenthalls McCauley Weir Meandu Creek Paradise Placer Wuruma
Central Queensland	Lake Awoonga Burton Gorge Callide Fairbairn Fitzroy River Barrage Kroombit Middle Creek Number 7 Teemburra Theresa Creek
North Queensland	Bamboo Burdekin Falls Eungella Gattonvale Offstream Storage Kinchant Paluma Peter Faust Ross River Solomon Teviot Creek
Far North Queensland	Copperlode Falls Ibis Irvinebank Koombooloomba Return Creek Southedge Stannary Hills Lake Tinaroo Wild River
North West Queensland	Lake Belmore Corella East Leichhardt Lake Julius Kidston Lake Moondarra Rifle Creek
Historical	Nindooinbah Tallebudgera Creek

Water resource management by function

Companies and government agencies	Gold Coast Water Queensland Urban Utilities seqwater SunWater WaterSecure
Other sources / facilities	Bradfield Scheme Bundaberg Irrigation Scheme Gold Coast Desalination Plant Mount Crosby Pumping Station SEQ Water Grid Toowoomba Water Futures referendum, 2006 Western Corridor Recycled Water Scheme
Regulators	Department of Energy and Water Supply
Historical	Brisbane Water LinkWater Queensland Water Commission SEQ Water Grid Manager