William Hovell Dam
A view of Lake William Hovell, looking north towards dam wall
Location of the William Hovell Dam in Victoria
Country	Australia
Location	Hume, Victoria
Coordinates	36°55′14″S 146°23′25″E / 36.92056°S 146.39028°E / -36.92056; 146.39028
Status	Operational
Opening date	1973
Owner(s)	Goulburn-Murray Water
Dam and spillways
Type of dam	Embankment dam
Impounds	King River
Height	35 m (115 ft)
Length	414 m (1,358 ft)
Dam volume	355×10^3 m3 (12.5×10^6 cu ft)
Spillway type	Flip bucket chute spillway
Spillway capacity	2,195 m3/s (77,500 cu ft/s)
Reservoir
Creates	Lake William Hovell
Total capacity	13,500 ML (3.0×10^9 imp gal; 3.6×10^9 US gal)
Surface area	113 ha (280 acres)
William Hovell
Operator(s)	Pacific Hydro
Installed capacity	1.6 MW (2,100 hp)
Annual generation	3.7 GWh (13 TJ)
Website Lake William Hovell at http://www.g-mwater.com.au

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.

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]