Waranga Dam

Template:Use Australian English Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox dam The Waranga Dam is a major earthfill embankment dam with an uncontrolled spillway located approximately Template:Convert north of Melbourne in the North Central region of the Australian state of Victoria. The impounded off-stream reservoir is Waranga Basin and forms part of the Goulburn River irrigation system, irrigating an area of Template:Convert.<ref name=ancold/> The dam and reservoir are located in Shire of Campaspe near the City of Greater Shepparton and is located Template:Convert north-east of Template:VICcity, Template:Convert south-west of Tatura, and near Template:VICcity. When full, the reservoir covers an area of Template:Convert.

The area now covered by the Waranga Basin includes a swamp that was known as Warranga (an indigenous word) or Gunn's after William Gunn, one of the early pastoralists who established his squatting run, also called Waranga, in the area surrounding the swamp. William Gunn was a Braehour Gunn who emigrated to Victoria in 1853 from Wick, Scotland. His half-brother was the Honourable Donald Gunn of Manitoba, Canada.<ref>See pages 370-372, Donald Gunn and Alastair Gunn 'Scotland and Beyond; the Families of Donald Gunn (Tormsdale) and John Gunn (Dalnaha, Strathmore and Braehour).'</ref> Gold was discovered near Waranga Swamp in 1853, making it one of Victoria's oldest goldfields.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Construction

Construction of the earth dam began in 1905 and was completed in 1915 using picks, shovels and horse-drawn scoops. The site of the basin was a former swamp in the then Waranga Shire. Construction of the dam was commissioned by the State Rivers and Water Supply Commission of Victoria for the irrigation of the Western Goulburn Valley. At the time of construction, the Waranga Basin embankment was described as the largest project of its sort in the world with an embankment height of Template:Convert and length of Template:Convert.<ref name=ancold/>

Between 1915 and 1926, the embankment was raised in stages and a core wall was inserted. By 1921, the embankment was raised to Template:Convert allowing the storage capacity to be increased to Template:Convert, its current capacity.<ref name=gmw>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The major road between Tatura and Rushworth crosses the outlet.

Distribution of the water

Waranga Basin stores water flowing downstream from Lake Eildon as well as having a catchment area of its own. Waranga Basin supplies water to the Central Goulburn Irrigation Area and Rochester Irrigation Area. However, the Waranga Western Channel takes some of the water Template:Convert to Pyramid Hill and Boort. Goulburn–Murray Water is responsible for regulating the flow of water from the basin.

Normally, only about three-quarters of the Template:Convert can be used in irrigation. However, in 2002–03, an additional Template:Convert were pumped to the Goulburn Irrigation System to assist farmers experiencing severe drought.

See also

• Irrigation in Australia
• List of reservoirs and dams in Victoria

External links

• Goulburn Murray Water page on Waranga Basin
• Waranga Basin Pumping
• Waranga North East Football Association