Warragamba Dam Case Study

Warragamba Dam is a concrete dam located in Warragamba, Sydney. It was constructed between 1948 and 1960. It supplies water to 3.4 million people in Greater Sydney. It holds back the water from the Coxs, Kowmung, Natai, Wingecarribee, Wollondilly and Warragamba Rivers, and is fed by a catchment area of 9051 km2. Recent enhancements to the dam were completed in 2009, which included the addition of an auxiliary spillway. The entire dam is 142 metres high, 351 metres in length, and is four times larger than Sydney Harbour, with 2027000 megalitres worth of operating capacity. 3 million tonnes of concrete were used to construct it. The location of this dam was chosen for its large catchment area, and because of the nearby river which was flowing