William Hovell Dam

The William Hovell Dam is a rock and earth-fill embankment dam with a flip bucket chute spillway across the King River, operated by Pacific Blue and located in the Hume region of Victoria, Australia.[1] The purposes of the dam are for irrigation and the generation of hydroelectricity. The impounded reservoir is called Lake William Hovell.

William Hovell Dam
A view of Lake William Hovell, looking north towards dam wall
William Hovell Dam is located in Victoria
William Hovell Dam
Location of the William Hovell Dam in Victoria
CountryAustralia
LocationHume, Victoria
Coordinates36°55′14″S 146°23′25″E
StatusOperational
Opening date1973
Owner(s)Goulburn-Murray Water
Dam and spillways
Type of damEmbankment dam
ImpoundsKing River
Height35 m (115 ft)
Length414 m (1,358 ft)
Dam volume355×10^3 m3 (12.5×10^6 cu ft)
Spillway typeFlip bucket chute spillway
Spillway capacity2,195 m3/s (77,500 cu ft/s)
Reservoir
CreatesLake William Hovell
Total capacity13,500 ML (3.0×10^9 imp gal; 3.6×10^9 US gal)
Surface area113 ha (280 acres)
William Hovell
Operator(s)Pacific Hydro
Installed capacity1.6 MW (2,100 hp)
Annual generation3.7 GWh (13 TJ)
Website
Lake William Hovell at http://www.g-mwater.com.au

The dam and reservoir are named in honour of William Hovell, an explorer.

Location and features

The dam is located south of Whitfield on the edge of the Alpine National Park, fed by the King River and Evans Creek. It supplies water for approximately 24 square kilometres (9.3 sq mi) for irrigated crops, vineyards and grazing properties along the King River from Cheshunt to Wangaratta.

Completed in 1973 the rock and earth–fill dam structure is 35 metres (115 ft) high and 414 metres (1,358 ft) long. The 355-thousand-cubic-metre (12.5×10^6 cu ft) dam wall holds back the 13,500-megalitre (3.0×10^9 imp gal; 3.6×10^9 US gal) Lake William Hovell, when at full capacity, with a surface area of 113 hectares (280 acres). The unusual flip bucket controlled spillway[2] has a discharge capacity of 2,195 cubic metres per second (77,500 cu ft/s). The dam is managed by Goulburn-Murray Water.[2][3]

Outflow from the dam drives a 1.6 megawatts (2,100 hp) hydro-electric generator, with an average annual output of 3.7 gigawatt-hours (13 TJ),[3] operated by Pacific Blue.[4]

See also

References
  1. Cox, F; Victoria. State Rivers and Water Supply Commission (1972), The geology of Lake William Hovell Dam: first stage, State Rivers and Water Supply Commission, ISBN 978-0-7241-0492-5
  2. "Lake William Hovell". Goulburn-Murray Water. Archived from the original on 26 September 2014. Retrieved 11 July 2014.
  3. "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 11 July 2014.
  4. "Victorian hydro plants". Projects: Operations. Pacific Blue. 2023. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
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