Victoria Dam (Western Australia)
The Victoria Dam is a water supply dam providing water for the city of Perth, Western Australia. It is situated on the Darling Scarp near Lesmurdie, and crosses Munday Brook. Two dams have stood at the present site; the older dam was the first permanent water supply for the colony and also the first dam in Western Australia.[1] It stood for almost 100 years before being replaced with the current dam.
Old Victoria Dam (1891–1990)
Old Victoria Dam | |
---|---|
Perth, Australia | |
Coordinates | 32°02′25″S 116°04′00″E / 32.04028°S 116.06667°E |
Opening date | 1 October 1891 |
Dam and spillways | |
Type of dam | Arch-gravity dam |
Impounds | Munday Brook |
Height | 23 m (75 ft) |
Length | 220 m (722 ft) |
Reservoir | |
Creates | Victoria Reservoir |
Total capacity | 600 ML (21,000,000 cu ft) |
Catchment area | 37.2 km2 (14.4 sq mi) |
Surface area | 0.15 km2 (0.06 sq mi) |
Prior to the constriction of the dam, residents of Perth sourced their drinking water from
The scheme designed by Saunders and Barratt contained full designs, site surveys and runoff estimates, despite no guarantee of approval or financial incentive. The plan included reticulation for both Perth and Fremantle. In July and August 1887, a Legislative Council Select Committee appointed to examine the proposal passed the issue back to local government. Fremantle refused to participate in the water supply scheme, so following the departure from the Civil Engineering partnership of Barratt, Saunders removed Fremantle from the plan.[2]
The Colony Government passed enabling legislation, and some privately owned land covering the reservoir was resumed.[2]
The site of the proposed reservoir is some 17 miles from Perth, and lies in a hollow of the hills, apparently intended by Nature for some such purpose, surrounded by the jarrah forest. At the lower end the hills approach comparatively close together, where it is proposed to construct the embankment.
— The West Australian, 3 December 1889[3]
Construction was completed in 1891. The scheme, which included pipelines to
The concrete dam wall was built using approximately 1,260 tonnes (1,240 long tons; 1,390 short tons) of cement imported from England. The dam wall was a concrete gravity-arch structure, designed in the plan of a large-radius arch.[1] The volume of the concrete in the finished wall was 16,900 cubic metres (0.60 million cubic feet).
At the time, the catchment area for the reservoir was used for cattle and sheep grazing and also housed several
Several cases of typhoid fever occurred at a timber mill in the catchment in 1892, at a time when typhoid fever became increasingly prevalent in Perth. Between 1895 and 1900, there were 4047 cases and 425 deaths from typhoid fever in Perth, and the water supply was suspected to be contaminated. In response to this, in 1896 the Colonial Government purchased the scheme, including the dam, pipelines and Mount Eliza reservoir. In 1897, a sample of the water from the reservoir was found to contain the bacteria causing typhoid fever, and strict by-laws were implemented to prosecute any cases of pollution of the water catchment. Also, a channel was cut to divert the Munday Brook water (polluted by the timber mills) away from the reservoir.
The dam as originally constructed featured two small spillways. In 1939, one of these was closed and the other expanded.
Water leaking through the dam wall
New Victoria Dam (1991–present)
New Victoria Dam | |
---|---|
Perth, Australia | |
Coordinates | 32°02′33″S 116°04′02″E / 32.04250°S 116.06722°E |
Construction began | 23 August 1990 |
Opening date | 22 November 1991 |
Dam and spillways | |
Impounds | Munday Brook |
Height | 52 m (171 ft) |
Length | 285 m (935 ft) |
Reservoir | |
Creates | Victoria Reservoir |
Catchment area | 37 km2 (14.3 sq mi) |
Surface area | 0.77 km2 (0.30 sq mi) |
The decision to replace the Old Victoria Dam was made in 1989. Use of the old dam for water supply ended on 3 April 1990, and the old dam was partially demolished. Construction on the new dam started on 23 August 1990.
The new Victoria Dam wall was constructed just upstream from the old dam
Due to the construction methods used, the dam was completed less than a year after excavation began on its foundations, halving the time it would have taken had more conventional methods been employed. The dam was officially opened on 22 November 1991 by Ernie Bridge, then the Minister for Water Resources.
The new dam supplies water to the Perth Hills suburbs of Kalamunda and Lesmurdie, and also supplies the rest of the metropolitan area in times of peak demand. The area is not open to full public access; it can only be visited by the public via walking trails.[6]
See also
- List of reservoirs and dams in Australia
- List of reservoirs and dams
References
- ^ a b c d Bulley, B., Wark, B. & Somerford, M. (2003). "Dams in the Darling Range" (PDF). The Engineering Geology of Perth. Australian Geomechanics Symposium. p. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 July 2005. Retrieved 14 March 2008.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ ISBN 0-7309-3718-6.
- ^ "The Perth Water Works: Visit of inspection". The West Australian. 3 December 1889. p. 3.
- ^ "THE MAIN SOURCES OF THE METROPOLITAN WATER SUPPLY. E. L. Mitchell". Western Mail (Perth, WA : 1885 – 1954). Perth, WA: National Library of Australia. 5 September 1913. p. 24. Retrieved 7 April 2012.
- ISBN 0-9595831-0-6pp.58–59 gives a divergent version of the history of the construction, and in particular a colourful description of the opening of the reservoir.
- ^ Ripper, Eric (23 September 2004). "Legislative Assembly – Grievance". Hansard. Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 14 March 2008. [dead link]
External links
- Dam storage level and statistics
- Structurae: New Victoria Dam (1991)
- Gallery of external and internal dam photographs (includes photographs of information boards)
- Consultant's project page for the dam, including gallery