Blue Rock Dam
Surrounds of plaques with intake tower at rear
Blue Rock Dam is located in Victoria
Blue Rock Dam
Location of the Blue Rock Dam in Victoria
CountryAustralia
LocationCentral Gippsland, Victoria
Coordinates38°4′46.75″S 146°13′39.11″E / 38.0796528°S 146.2275306°E / -38.0796528; 146.2275306
PurposePower
StatusOperational
Construction began1979[1]
Opening date1984
Operator(s)Southern Rural Water
Dam and spillways
Type of damEmbankment dam
ImpoundsTanjil River
Height72 metres (236 ft)
Length600 metres (2,000 ft)
Dam volume1.514 million m3 (53.5 million cu ft)
Spillways1
Spillway typeControlled chute
Spillway capacity1,200 cubic metres per second (42,000 cu ft/s)
Reservoir
CreatesBlue Rock Lake
Total capacity208,000 ML (7.3 billion cu ft)
Catchment area360 square kilometres (140 sq mi)
Surface area873 hectares (2,160 acres)
Blue Rock Dam Power Station
Operator(s)Pacific Energy
Commission date1992
Installed capacity2.6 megawatts (3,500 hp)
Annual generation9 gigawatt-hours (32 TJ)
Website
Blue Rock Dam at Southern Rural Water

The Blue Rock Dam is a minor rock-fill embankment dam with controlled chute spillway across the Tanjil River, located approximately 30 kilometres (19 mi) north of Moe, in the Central Gippsland region of Victoria, Australia.[2] The dam is operated by Southern Rural Water.

Features and location

The dam was built to provide cooling water for the thermal power stations of the Latrobe Valley and to augment domestic water supplies.[3]

The Blue Rock Lake has two recreation areas on its shore and small power boats are allowed to be used.[4][5]

In 1992 Pacific Energy installed a small 2.4-megawatt (3,200 hp) hydroelectric generator that is linked to the national grid.[6]

Jaidyn Leskie

Jaidyn Leskie was a one-year-old boy who disappeared from his babysitter's house in Moe on 15 June 1997. A large scale search for the boy in the hope of finding him still alive was unsuccessful. His body was found on 1 January 1998 at Blue Rock Dam, 18 km (11 mi) north of Moe.[7] His body had been preserved by the cold waters of the lake through winter. The clothing he was wearing was subject to a DNA test in an effort to solve the crime.[8]

Gallery

References

  1. ^ Victoria. State Rivers and Water Supply Commission (1981), [Construction work at Blue Rock Dam on the Tanjil River], retrieved 8 March 2017
  2. ^ Victoria. Ombudsman; Victoria. Parliament. Legislative Assembly (1985), Report of investigations relating to alleged inadequate compensation following compulsory acquisition of land for the Blue Rock Dam, Govt. Printer, retrieved 7 January 2019
  3. ^ Water supply, Gippsland Water, Victorian Regional Water Corporation, ...We also take water from storages managed by Southern Rural Water (Blue Rock Dam...
  4. ^ Blue Rock Dam - New Boating Regulations, 2015, In Depth Angler - Lure and Fly Fishing Australia
  5. ^ Blue Rock Lake Tagged Bass Challenge, Blue Rock bass, Target One Million, Recreational fishing, Fisheries, Agriculture Victoria
  6. ^ "Register of Large Dams in Australia". Dams information. The Australian National Committee on Large Dams Incorporated. 2010. Archived from the original (Excel (requires download)) on 12 December 2013. Retrieved 22 February 2014.
  7. ^ Stuart Rintoul (5 October 2006). "Riddle of a Sad Little Death". The Australian. Archived from the original on 15 December 2012. Retrieved 19 March 2008.
  8. ^ Stephen Cauchi (22 November 2003). "Leskie Bib Puts Science in the Dock". The Age. Retrieved 19 March 2008.

External links

Media related to Blue Rock Dam at Wikimedia Commons


Waterways of the West Gippsland catchment, Victoria, Australia
Water supply in Victoria, Australia
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